Draco's My Love Coach
by Supon
Summary: Ginny Weasley makes deal with Draco Malfoy one day and he becomes her love coach. Will this help her gain the love of the boy she loves or only make matters worse? Read and find out!
1. Let's Make A Deal

Author's Note: Why hello there! Before you start to read this little fan fiction, there are some things that you might need to know:

This is set in an AU, therefore some things have not yet happened nor will they happen. A few examples of this are: Umbridge is not and will not be a DADA teacher at Hogwarts, Sirius Black is not dead, the golden trio never visit the Department of Mysteries hence none of the death eaters that appear there are arrested and Draco Malfoy does not become a death eater during his sixth year.

In this fic, it is Ginny's fifth year and Malfoy's sixth year.

The Yule Ball has become a yearly tradition and serves as a memorial to all those people whom has fallen victim to Lord Voldemort. Also, you have to be in fifth year or older to attend it unless you are invited by an older student.

With that, please read this fic, review and point out anything that might sound weird. And if you find misspelled words, forgive me for them ^_^"

It was an unusually warm and sunny October morning and almost the whole Hogwarts castle was emptied of people. The few ones whom still resided inside castle either had work to do or were trying to get away from the masses.

Ginny Weasley was currently hiding out in the library in hopes of not being disturbed. With a head held low, she sat brooding by a window and wished that her mournful life would simply end. Her hopes of ever becoming more than just a friend with the Boy Who Lived had been crushed, as he this morning had told her straight out that she was like a sister to him and then went off to drool over Cho. A sister?! Had she not shown her interest in him or was it that he was too thick-headed, a side-effect from spending too much time with her brother Ron? Or was it that she was not girlfriend-material, too innocent to even be considered anything else than a younger sibling?

Unable to figure things out, she continued to gaze out the window and soon felt hot tears coming from her eyes. Why were boys so dense?

Her melancholy was interrupted by a harsh snort coming from her left and as she turned towards the source of the noise, her eyes met something that she knew too well would try ruining her day further. Draco Malfoy was leaning casually against a bookshelf, seemingly utterly amused and as Ginny wiped away her tears, sneered at the younger girl in a contemptuous manner.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" the red-head asked with a hoarse voice and tried to keep it as steady as possible.

"Nothing, I'm simply amazed by the fact that Pothead has people crying over him," the blonde replied and sneered some more. "A bit pathetic if you ask me." The scorn in his voice was obvious.

"And why would I be crying over Harry?"

"Oh please Weasley, who else?"

"Actually, I was crying over a… a book I read." Malfoy rolled his eyes at her comment.

"Seriously Weasley, if you believe that I will buy that, then you're dumber than I thought."

Unlike most of the Weasleys, Ginny was quite good at lying when the time called for it, but today it somehow seemed she had lost her ability and her lie was too evident. She blamed it on heartache.

"Sod off, Malfoy," she turned around and faced the window again, determined to ignore the Slytherin until he went away.

"Oh, come on now Weasley, let me in the gossip about Pothead so I can taunt him with it."

Draco walked over to her and looked her in the eyes, smirking one of his sinister smiles. He was clearly not leaving.

"Is it Potty's infatuation with Chang that bugs you? That he has only eyes for her and her alone?"

Ginny felt herself stiffen. Malfoy had hit a sensitive spot and he knew it. He smiled yet another wicked smile.

"It is, isn't it?" he asked delighted. "Pothead's head over heels for Chang and that's making you devastated. You're realizing that you will never have him and that you're only a sister in his eyes, am I right? Can't say I blame him, you have that 'younger sister'- look written all over you."

Ginny remained silent, trying her best not to lose her composure and do a Hermione and slap the blond in the face. It was harder than one might think, especially when he constantly came with spiteful comments that tested her patience.

"… Cho might look all that innocent, but she has that aura around her that allures you, whereas you are simply a poor little blood-traitor. And you don't even have a real house, just some dump your parents built…"

That was the last drop for Ginny and she stood up and punched the boy, hard, in the face.

"So what!? I'm only considered as a sister to Harry, will most likely never have his affection and don't have that much money, but at least I have something you will never have: real family and friends that love me!" with that, she stormed off, leaving behind a gaping and slightly baffled Malfoy.

Trying to get the anger out of her system, Ginny made her way to the Astronomy Tower. Sliding down against a wall, she still felt furious and decided to try the famous

'count-from-ten-to-one'- method in order to calm herself. When it did not work, she chose a higher number and slowly counted down again. When she reached fourteen, she was disturbed by the sound of steps making their way up the stairs. Looking over, she saw a Draco Malfoy whom seemed slightly out of breath, making her believe that he had rushed all the way after her. But that couldn't be, right? Sliding down the opposite wall, Malfoy regained his breath and smirked at her.

"Quite the feisty one, aren't we Weasley? I never would have suspected that your punches was that hard."

Feeling her rage returning, she glared at him. How could one boy irritate her so?

"Go away, Malfoy. Don't you have some _friends_ to torture with your presence? Or is it that they finally realized what a vicious, little manipulating and treacherous brat you are and left you?"

Malfoy scoffed. Clearly, he was enjoying himself.

"Indeed the feisty one. Tell me, is it typical Gryffindor behaviour to punch your fellow students or is it only everyone around Pothead that tends to use violence to express their feelings?"

If looks could kill, then Malfoy would have been dead a thousand times over. Had he stalked her all the way to the Astronomy Tower only to continue to mock her? She would not tolerate it further. Pulling out her wand, she stood up and pointed it at Malfoy.

"Go away or be blasted away, it is your choice, _Malfoy._"

Little sparks emitted from her wand. Malfoy simply looked at the enraged girl and smirked.

"Do yourself a favour Weasley and put away the wand. It is not very ladylike to threaten people."

Not lowering her wand, Ginny took one step closer to Malfoy as she was trying to show him that she was serious. His smirk grew wider.

"Come on now Weasley, if you blast me away, I will not be able to tell you why I'm here."

This seemed to catch the girl's attention. Was Malfoy here for something else that mockery? Doubtful, if it was not to mock her, then it was to put some baleful plan into action.

"As if I didn't already know that."

"I doubt it," the blonde replied and looked at her like she was never going to figure it out.

Hesitantly, Ginny lowered her wand. As much as she hated to admit it, she was curious about the reason behind Malfoy's presence. Could it really be that he had something worth hearing on his mind?

"I knew you would be interested," the blonde smirked.

"So, what is it?"

"Straight to the point, aren't we? Very well then." He inhaled and then looked her straight in the eyes, as if he was preparing to sell a product to a most reluctant client. "I'm giving you a chance to obtain your heart's desire, something that you have always wanted, but never gotten. And I'm giving it to you for no fee at all!"

Ginny raised her eyebrow. What in the world was Malfoy rambling about? Getting her heart's desire? He couldn't possible mean… Before she could continue her trail of thoughts, the blonde continued his little seller-speech.

"What I'm saying is this: I'm going to be your love coach!"

Ginny's mouth dropped. Was she seriously hearing those words coming out of the Slytherin's mouth? He couldn't be for real; it was all clearly a big joke.

"Trying to pull my leg, aren't you Malfoy? You have come up with a new, wicked plan which will most likely destroy an innocent person and for what? To keep you Slytherins amused!"

She was furious again. How dared he try to trick her with such a foul trick?! 'I'll be your love coach' my ass! She wasn't taking this anymore; it had been enough that she even had considered listening to him. Oh Ginny you fool. Trusting a Slytherin was like believing that giant spiders wouldn't eat you if you crossed their path: foolish!

She turned around and was heading for the stairs when she was stopped by Malfoy. He had grabbed hold of her arm and it seemed that he was not letting go.

"What is it with you Gryffindors never trusting us Slytherins? What have we ever done to deserve such distrust? Do you seriously believe that we would play with other people's emotions _just _to keep ourselves amused?" Malfoy said with a serious voice.

"Yes, you bloody well would!" the red-head replied and yanked her arm free. "As long as you didn't get in trouble for it, you would do most things normal people didn't even consider doing!"

The blonde chuckled a little

"True and we would be damn proud of it to. But that doesn't mean that this is one of those times."

She stared at him in disbelief.

"Oh, come on Weasley, get it into your head that I'm being serious!" He crossed his arms and gave her a look that told her that he believed her to be a stubborn, thick-headed fool not to realise the honest intentions of his offer.

"Ever since I started here, no, even before that, you have been mocking, torturing and insulting my family, friends and myself at all possible times. Do you seriously think that I'll believe this little 'good guru' act that you're pulling off? Get a hold of yourself Malfoy!"

Malfoy sighed at her outburst and mumbled 'Gryffindors'.

"I know I might not have been the nicest block towards you, but I'll have you know that I am not ashamed of it! It is in my nature to be a bastard! However, I'm not lying when I'm offering to be your love coach nor is it a joke. If you don't try to run of again, I'll tell you my reasons behind this offer."

Once again, Ginny was staring at him in disbelief.

The boy sighed again. "Be a true Gryffindor and have some faith in your fellow students: sit down and hear me out and if you don't like what I'm saying you may leave. But not until I have finished, okay?"

Even though he was not pleading or anything alike, Ginny felt obligated to at least listen to him and reluctantly, she sat down against the wall yet again.

"Okay Malfoy, what's your reasons? A sudden impulse to redeem your past deeds?"

"Of course not, we Slytherins don't come with a conscious," he replied and smirked at her.

"No, to tell you the truth, I'm partly doing this because I'm bored. So you weren't wrong when you said I'm doing this to amuse myself, however, it is not in a bad way. Furthermore, I'm doing this because I'm intrigued."

"Intrigued?" Ginny answered sceptically.

"Yes, intrigued. I'm wondering if it is possible to turn little innocent, 'girl-next-door' Ginny Weasley into a man-eater. Can you imagine everyone's faces? Oh, how sweet it would be releasing a man-eater into Hogwarts whom will crush loads of hearts and know that I created her!"

He lost himself in a daydream where he seemed utterly content with himself and muttered things such as 'good work Draco, good work indeed'.

This was not the Draco Malfoy she was used of seeing and even though she should have been a bit frightened of him, her head was filled with other, more important thoughts. If she could become a man-eater and have all the boys' attentions, maybe she could at last get _his _attention. Maybe he would finally realise that she was more than sister-material and…

"See, it is a good deal, is it not?" Draco, whom had finally snapped out of his little daydream, was turned her way and smiling at her. "Stop hesitating and say yes. We both know that you want to!"

He reached out his hand and awaited her approval. After giving it a few more seconds thought, she took his hand and shook it. What was the worst that could happen anyway?

"Feels great, doesn't it?" the blonde flashed another smile and seemed genuinely delighted.

"Though I'm going to warn you right now Weasley. I have one rule and one rule only about this coaching. Or well, there are several rules, but the most important one that you must never forget is this one: you may not fall in love with me."

"You wish!" She rolled her eyes. As if she would ever fall for such a bastard!

"Good that we are on equal terms." He got up from the ground and walked over to the stairs.

"Don't contact me, I'll contact you." with that, he left her with a slight wave of his hand and the sight of his back disappearing down the stairs.

Even though she had decided on her own to agree to this little game, Ginny couldn't shake the feeling off that she had just made a deal with the Devil. Or at least one of his underlings.


	2. The Coaching Begins

Another chapter out so soon? I must be on a roll xD Anyways, wrote this in a couple of hours and I'm not that keen of re-reading hundreds of times to find misspellings or such as I am to posting it. So enjoy the second chapter, inform me of anything you might believe to be strange and please review ^__^

Chapter 2

A few days passed after Ginny's encounter with Malfoy and there was no word from him. In her mind, the red-head was beginning to doubt that the meeting had really occurred, that it had only been a fiction of her mind. It wouldn't surprise her one bit; it was only too strange to be true. However, she had experience unexplainable moments before such as finding herself covered in chicken blood in the girl's bathroom and not understanding why. Only that time there had been blank holes in her mind instead of a conversation with a bastard. Oh, and it had been a younger version of you-know-who controlling her. It was almost the same thing. Maybe she had been accidentally drugged by a deranged house elf?

Her none logical trail of thoughts was brought to an end as a brown owl swooshed past her and dropped a letter in her knee before it flew up and left the scene. How come that all other owls except Errol seemed to be able to deliver a letter without crash-landing in someone's food?

Opening the letter she was met by an unknown, rather squiggly handwriting. Yet, she could guess whose it was and after reading the letter she was completely sure that this had been written by a certain Slytherin. How could she not tell when the letter was filled with scornful comments and the word blood-traitor here and there? Well, at least she knew she hadn't been dreaming nor drugged and that her first coaching was about to begin that very evening. But how were you supposed to act around your love coach? Were you to give him a red apple and thank him for taking you on? Doubtful and if she did, Malfoy's ego might burst and kill him. Now that wouldn't do.

The evening came and Ginny made her way to an abandoned classroom on the fourth floor. Even though she was early by nearly twenty minutes, Malfoy was already waiting in the classroom. It seemed he had been there some time, reading a book whose title Ginny could not distinguish in the faint light the chandelier emitted.

Looking up from the book, Malfoy greeted her with a smirk and got up from the chair he had been sitting on. "Here so soon? I suppose you must have been eager to see me again and I can't say I blame you. I tend to have that effect on people"

His smirk grew wider.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Stop being so smug about yourself and let's get this coaching thing started."

Malfoy's only response was a slight chuckle.

"I'm waiting Malfoy"

"Well since you are so eager to get started, you can begin with jumping on one leg while rubbing your stomach with one hand and patting your head with the other"

"What?" the girl looked at Malfoy sceptically. He couldn't be serious, could he?

"I know what you're thinking and the answer is: Yes, I am serious. Now get to it" he replied and made an encouraging gesture to get her started.

Slowly, Ginny lifted her left leg and began to jump patting her head while rubbing her stomach. As she performed this, according to her, useless exercise, the smirk on the blonde's face grew wider and he was soon sniggering. Of course he hadn't been serious. She stopped the jumping and spitefully glared at the boy.

"Do you think this is fun!? Messing with me!?" Once again, he had made her furious, but now he had the nerve to make fun of her to! These Slytherins, how she detested them!

"Yes, it must certainly is little Gryffindor" He answered her after recovering from his sniggering attack. "You are so gullible to actually believe that was part of the coaching"

He let out another snigger.

She was almost about to explode and the only thing she could manage to do in order to prevent another outburst was glaring at Malfoy even more maliciously than before. If he wasn't going to take this seriously, she vowed to leave! But not until she had hexed his balls off.

Sensing the red-head's rage, Malfoy stopped laughing and tried to calm her down. "There there Weasley, please do try to calm yourself down. I was only having a little bit of fun. Slytherin blood you see?"

He was once again smirking that smug, tantalizing smile that enraged her so. It really would have to come to an end soon or else she didn't know what she was going to do.

Breathe Ginny, breathe.

Taking a few minutes, Ginny inhaled and exhaled deep breaths and felt the anger slowly but surely leave her.

"Now, if you have regained your composure, let us begin with examining you. A man-eater must have a…"

For the following half an hour, Malfoy examined how she talked, walked and dressed among other things and came to the conclusion that everything about her was wrong. She had no feeling when she walked and she dressed too innocently (and had no sense of fashion. Seriously, where had she gotten that rag of hers? It was undoubtedly second-hand and a big no no for a man-eater). Furthermore, her personality was too sweet and needed a drastic change.

After preaching about how miracles doesn't happen over night, but bloody well should, Malfoy decided that teaching her a fierce walk was the number one priority for the night.

The self-proclaimed master of walking strutted over to the other side of the room and showed her how a fierce walk was to be done. Even though she believed Malfoy to be too conceited for his own good, she had to hand it to him that he knew what he was talking about. As he made his way through the room, he became the centre of attention and forced you to look at him, simply by putting in feeling in his walk. He was good and he knew it. With a smirk on his lips, he stopped before her.

"Now it is your turn my dear pupil" he said and harshly pushed her out on the floor, almost making her fall.

Stupid Slytherin…

An hour passed and Ginny wasn't doing as well as expected. She simply couldn't get the right feeling into the walk and even though her walk in general looked good, it wasn't enough. Feeling was everything.

"No, that's not right either, Weasley. Here, let me show you again"

The Slytherin got up from his chair and showed her how to walk for the fifty-first time, but to no avail. She couldn't do it.

"Oh Merlin, what are we going to do with you Weasley? I knew you were a hard case, being from that blood-traitorous family of yours with no class what so ever, but I never thought it would be this hard!" Malfoy sighed and put his face in his hands.

The boy was clearly growing tired of her inability, but what else could she do? She was trying her hardest, she really was, but it wasn't enough. Ginny felt her cheeks get hot and the tears trying to escape from her eyes. Soon, small tears were running down her face. She felt like such a failure.

The sobbing made the boy look up and when he saw her cry, he sighed again.

"Oh Weasley, please stop that crying. I've never been good with comforting and I don't plan on trying to improve it now" the contempt was in his voice, but it seemed he wasn't putting much effort into it.

When she didn't stop crying, he walked up to her and placed his hands on her shoulder.

"Do you know what your problem is? You don't see yourself as fierce and therefore it is not transpiring into your walk. In order to have a fierce walk, you have to be fierce in your mind. I'm telling you: it is all in the mind. For example, if I didn't believe myself to be fierce and the best of them all, others wouldn't see me that way. But that's not the case now, is it?"

"No, now they see you as the arrogant bastard you really are" Ginny managed to say through her sniffling. She even managed to use a sort of mocking voice.

The boy scoffed. "That is only what you Gryffindors tell yourself, but I know that deep down you all consider me to be a masterpiece sent from above. You're just too ashamed to say it out loud"

A slight giggle escaped the girl's lips and she mumbled the words "self-centred little brat" to herself while wiping away her tears.

"Now, if you have recovered from that emotional breakdown, get out on the floor and show me a fierce walk. Just think you're fierce and you will be!"

This time, it went much better and after a few more tries, Ginny had gotten the basic down.

"See, it is all in your mind!" Malfoy seemed utterly pleased with her development, but not as pleased as he was with himself. "Didn't _I_ tell you that?"

The girl rolled her eyes again. "Yes you did"

"Now, get your behind out of here. I'm tired and curfew is about to begin. Despite all those funny little rumours about me running around on school ground with different girls after curfew are quite amusing, I rather not get caught by Filch and have them acknowledge. And besides, Merlin only knows what he might do" the boy shrugged and then proceeded to shoving her out of the room.

Stopping by the door, he confirmed that the coast was clear and then exited the room.

"Now little pupil" he began with a sombre voice, "do not burst into tears again. We will meet again. But until then, try to endure a life without me there guiding you" Malfoy winked at her and then strutted of towards the dungeons.

Ginny smiled a little to herself and shook her head. He was and would always be a narcissist. But it was only to be expected. After all, it was Draco Malfoy they were talking about.

Walking the other way, Ginny made her way towards the Gryffindor Common Room to get a good night's sleep. It was astounding how learning to walk fiercely made you so drowsy.


	3. Closet Disaster

AN: I'm sorry for not uploading for a while! I simply never took the time to finish this chapter until now. However, I hope I redeem myself by posting a longer chapter than the previous ones! ^.^"

Chapter 3 

During the three weeks that followed, Ginny Weasley found herself adding a new habit into her every-day life. Along with the usual weekly homework and spending time with her friends, she now had coaching lessons with Malfoy twice a week. Surprisingly, the coaching was the one that took the most time and effort out of the little Gryffindor, but also the one that brought the most joy with it.

Sure, Malfoy was a prat and could never shut up about how great he was nor could he stop himself from making some sort of scornful comment about her family and friends during their lessons. However, as time went by, Ginny found herself getting use to them. After all, it seemed to be in the boy's nature to be spiteful towards everyone and she no longer took that much notice of the spitefulness.

Since the first evening of coaching, it had taken another two for her to master the walking fully and making the, now upgraded, god of walking astonished. Of course, he claimed it had all been because of his teaching.

After the walking came how to stand still and have the same effect on people. To help her to understand how to do it, Malfoy had been more that willing to show her. Lowering his face at first, he had slowly lifted it and looked her intensely into the eyes, before giving her a slight smirk. This little act had been performed so skilfully that it had given her goose-bumps. Not that she would ever tell Malfoy that.

As she attempted to replicate the move, she found out that it was harder than it appeared and even harder than the walking. Another two lessons, sneering comments and a well-hidden peep-talk from the coach was needed until that move also was to be mastered. It was time to bring in the heavy cavalry.

It was her sixth coaching and Malfoy was standing in front of her, being half-way through another one of his lectures about how to be a man-eater as well as how great he was.

"My dear apprentice, the past few weeks, you have made some great improvements, but the toughest are yet to come," Malfoy exclaimed. "However, to be able to continue your training, we have a very important mission to perform before your next coaching."

Ginny perked at this statement. Clearly the boy was up to something.

"As I assume you might already know, this weekend, we are allowed to go to Hogsmeade and it is a perfect time to improve your appearance. Your mission during this trip will be finding some new, more appealing clothing than the ones you're currently wearing and they may NOT be second-hand!" At this, the boy looked at her gravely.

The girl felt herself blush a little. Her whole closet consisted of second-hands, with the exception of the knitted-sweaters her mother made every year, and Malfoy knew that.

"Furthermore, you must come back with at least one whole new outfit. But since I don't trust your sense of fashion, I'll be escorting you and making sure nothing dreadful makes its way into your closet."

At this, Ginny stiffened and stared at the boy with big, terrified eyes. Was she to be seen walking around Hogsmeade with Draco Malfoy? Oh dear.

--------

It was the morning of the Hogsmeade visit and Ginny was feeling slightly nauseous. She could only to well picture the reaction of her fellow students as she and Malfoy would walk through the little village in search of her new outfit and she didn't like it one bit. Who knew what foul rumours they might come up with?

Unable to think about anything else, the nausea grew and she pushed the plate with her breakfast away from her. There was no way she could get another bite down.

Hermione, who was sitting a few feet away, noticed Ginny's dismay and went over to check on her.

"Are you feeling alright?" the brown-haired girl asked cautiously.

Even though Ginny yearned to tell someone about her distress, she felt that Hermione might not be the most suitable one. After all, it was common knowledge that Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy detested each other. Therefore, the red-head doubted that she would come much further than the part of Malfoy being her love coach before the older girl would burst with either shock or horror.

"I'm fine", she replied and smiled a rather forced smile which she hoped would trick the other girl.

It didn't work.

"Ginny, you know you can talk with me about anything, don't you?" Hermione pushed on and looked at Ginny with worried eyes. "If it is something you don't want Ron to know, you don't have to worry. I would never say anything to him."

Somehow, Ginny doubted that. This was simply something not even Hermione could keep to herself.

"It's nothing, I promise Hermione", Ginny replied and tried to be as convincing as possible. "I just… ate something my stomach didn't like. I'll be fine in a bit."

Hermione eyed her dubiously, but when the younger girl once again insisted that she really was alright, she got up.

"If you say so. But remember, if you ever need to talk, I'm here."

With that, Hermione walked away, most likely to meet up with Harry and Ron, before heading to Hogsmeade.

When the older girl was out of sight, Ginny put her head down on the table. "Yes, I'm fine…" she muttered in a vain attempt to convince herself.

-----

It was 12.25 and Ginny had been waiting on the appointed meeting place for roughly ten minutes without any sign of Malfoy. Impatiently, she was pacing back and forth, looking up every time someone appeared on the otherwise vacant street, only to discover that it was not Malfoy.

When another fifteen had passed, she was at her breaking point. The nausea she had felt all morning had gone away and been replaced by a much stronger feeling: annoyance.

Why didn't he come? Had he forgotten her and found someone else whom he considered a much more pleasant company? If he had, it wouldn't be surprise her. It would be typical Slytherin behaviour. Oh, he was such a jerk and when she saw him, she would…

"Weasley!" A voice called from behind and turning around, she found Malfoy nonchalantly walking down the street.

About bloody time.

"You're late! I've been waiting for twenty-five minutes!" She blurted out when he reached her.

He raised his eyebrows in what appeared to be both surprise and amusement. "Oh, really? I thought it was much longer", he replied with a smirk, making the girl glower at him maliciously.

One day, she swore, she would cast a really nasty spell on that boy and see who would be smirking then.

"Well, don't just stand there, Weasley. We have shops to visit!" Malfoy said, not even given her a reason behind his delay, before he made his way through the deserted street.

Such an arrogant little oaf!

Not being able to voice her discontent, mostly because Malfoy was too far ahead of her, Ginny hurried after him.

Always staying a few feet in front of her, Malfoy lead the way through several narrow streets, all seemingly deserted, before stopping outside a shop Ginny never had seen during all her visits to Hogsmeade. It was located in a neatly looking house with a rather extravagant-looking sign featuring an unfamiliar word in what she guessed was French.

Upon entering the shop, the pair was greeted by an elder woman. She was rather short with brown, shoulder-lengthen hair which was stripped with grey hairs and had the kindest sea-blue eyes Ginny had ever seen.

"Why, hello there dear, long time no see Draco", the woman said and smiled brightly towards Malfoy. Apparently they were already acquainted.

The boy returned her greeting with a slight nod before pushing Ginny in front of him.

"I've a fashion disaster here that urgently needs your helping hand Mrs Maple. Do you believe you might be able to cure her from her bad sense of fashion?" Malfoy asked with his usual arrogant voice.

Ginny's cheeks got hot. Did he really have to put it that way, making her feel embarrassed? Couldn't a simple "Hi, find this girl new cloths!" do?

Of course not, this was Draco Malfoy, a boy whom loved to exaggerate every thing, just so people would get the point easier.

"I'll se what I can do puppy", the woman replied, before turning her attention towards the girl.

"Hi sweetie, I'm Cassandra Maple."

The woman extended her hand towards the red-head.

"Nice to meet you Ms Maple", Ginny replied and shook the woman's hand.

"Oh, do call me Cassandra. It is only Draco here that insists at calling me Mrs Maple. Quite the gentleman he is, but if you don't mind me saying so, it's making me feel a bit old."

Looking suspiciously at Cassandra, the girl wondered if she was sane or not. Not finding any signs of lunacy, Ginny decided that the elder woman clearly had not seen Malfoy's true self. Malfoy, a gentleman? It almost made Ginny laugh.

"Now dear, let us see if we can find some more appropriate clothing for such a fine young woman as yourself. I do believe I have a dress that would go excellent with your hair colour." Cassandra gently took Ginny's hand and led her towards a rack filled with all types of cloths.

Working their way through the entire store, Ginny was forced to try on almost every piece of clothing that either Malfoy or Cassandra believed would fit her. Nearly two hours passed before the two of them were content and by then, a big pile of cloths had formed before Ginny.

"This is absolutely stunning Mrs Maple, I do believe that we have successfully rescued her closet from its torment!" Malfoy exclaimed as the last garment, a slim emerald-green dress, was included to the pile. "Now, about the payment…"

At the word payment, Ginny felt her heart sink. Even though she would gladly buy the whole pile, the Gryffindor realized that it she couldn't do it. She simply did not have the money for it.

"…I'd say 50 Galleons would do."

Ginny turned her head and stared in disbelief at the blonde. Did he mean to pay for her new cloths? No, she couldn't allow that, she had some dignity and she…

"Close your mouth Weasley, it is not making you look very attractive as it is making you look like a fool", Malfoy pointed out, before handing Cassandra the money.

The comment made the girl regain her speech. "What are you doing Malfoy? You cannot possible pay for all this!"

"And you believe you can?" The boy laughed a little at her and looked at her incredulously .

"Well…"

"Remember what I said when we made this little deal Weasley?" the boy asked, cutting her off. "I said for no fees at all and I stand by my word. I shall pay for your cloths. Furthermore, I doubt that you have enough money to buy even one piece of this clothing. I've seen your house!"

Ginny stood baffled. Surely he couldn't be meaning to buy ALL the cloths?

He did.

As they exited the store, Ginny struggled to get all the bags through the door. Something that would have been much easier if Malfoy would have helped her with a few of them. But, as he had already pointed out, HE was paying for the cloths, so she could not expect him to carry them too!

Yes, he was indeed the gentleman.

Finally squeezing through the door, she said good-bye to Cassandra, whom gave her a kiss on the right cheek as a reply, and then stalked after Malfoy.

The Slytherin was making his way through the narrow streets again and it seemed that they were not done with their trip yet. Where else could he be bringing her?

The answer was, everywhere. Apparently, buying new cloths was not enough. The appropriate accessories and more were needed.

Several shops and bags later, Malfoy decided that it was time for a little break and declared that they would be heading for his favourite café next, where delicious treats awaited their arrival.

------------------

The café was a little cosy, yet discreet-looking shop, filled with tons of sugary treats. Moreover, it was not overly crowded and Ginny got the impression that only the people of the village chose to go here, perhaps to escape the hordes of teenagers that ever so often visited Hogsmeade.

Thank Merlin for that. She didn't know how she would have reacted if there had been any fellow Hogwarts students there.

Taking a seat by a table in the corner, Ginny let all her bags fall to the floor and crashed down onto the chair.

"Weasley, you should not leave all your bags lying on the floor like that, the owner might get offended", Malfoy pointed out from behind the menu he had picked up.

The red-head glared at the boy. "Where would you rather have me put them?" She hissed as a responds. "On the table?"

The boy looked up at her with an acted surprise. "Of course not. If I was you, I would call a house elf and make him bring all the bags back to the castle. Oh, but since you don't have one, you may borrow mine."

He snapped his finger and out of the blue a rather tattered-looking house elf appeared. The boy pointed at the pile of bags, told the creature to bring it to Ginny's chamber and without another word, the elf disappeared along with the bags.

The whole procedure had taken less than 30 seconds and knowing fully well that Malfoy most likely had had this idea in mind for some time, she glared at him viciously.

"You could have done that hours ago and spared me the trouble of dragging the bags with me for the whole shopping tour, couldn't you?" Ginny asked in a cold tone of voice.

"Technically, yes. But that wouldn't have been as fun now, would it?" The Slytherin replied truthfully and smirked tantalizing from behind the menu.

Ginny felt her annoyance return and she was just about to tell him off, when the waitress approached them.

"Are you ready to order?"

"Two chocolate cupcakes with raspberry sprinkles and a cup of crystal tea", Malfoy said.

Wait had he just said cupcakes?

Before she got any further on her line of thoughts, Malfoy turned to her. "What do you want?"

Not having seen anything on the menu because of being distracted with other things, Ginny hastily picked it up and chose the first things she saw: a slice of apple pie with vanilla custard and a cup of hot chocolate.

The waitress simply nodded at their order and strolled off again. When she was out of sight, the Gryffindor returned her attention to the blonde.

"You ordered two chocolate cupcakes?" she asked with one eyebrow raised and an amused smile on her lips.

"Yes, I did", Malfoy replied while studying his nails.

The girl pressed on, trying to suppress the laughter in her voice. "With raspberry sprinkles?"

"If you haven't gone half deaf since we came here, you know fully well that I did. What of it, Weasley?" He was warning her with his voice not to push it any further.

It was all too much for the younger girl and she began to laugh. Draco Malfoy ordering chocolate cupcakes with raspberry sprinkles? Who would have guessed?

"Oh, stop that Weasley. The dark side enjoys cupcakes too and especially the ones with raspberry sprinkles", Malfoy said rather sternly, trying to put an end to her laughter. "You have no right to claim all the sweets for yourself!" He pointed his finger accusingly at her.

The laughter continued and it was not until the waitress returned with their order, and Ginny had managed to take a bite out of her pie, that her sniggering ended.

Clearly trying to act indifferent to what had just happened, Malfoy spoke. "It is good that your mood has lifted", he said as she munched on her pie. "If not you might not have been up for the last part of our trip."

Weren't they done? The girl looked up at the boy and tilted her head a little to the right. They had already bought her cloths, shoes, accessories and make-up. What in the world could they possible have left to do?

Knowing she had no idea what so ever as what this last little visit was, Malfoy smirked conceitedly. "If you are ever going to look stunning in your new items, we have to get that hair of yours under control."

Ginny almost choked on a piece of an apple. Was she to entrust her hair in the hands of Malfoy? Somehow, that sounded a bit… ominous.

Her inner worry was noticed by the Slytherin and it seemed he took joy from it. Perhaps all this was some sort of payback for laughing at him before?

No, his smile told her this had been planned this from the beginning, but why? Was it a last grand final, where his sinister little Slytherin nature showed itself once again? After all, he had been nicer than normal today, so it was only natural that he had to let all that bottled wickedness out.

Regardless of it being a malicious plan or not, there was no way she could say no to him. Not after everything he had done to her this far, it simply wasn't an option.

As soon as she had finished her pie and cup of chocolate, Malfoy left a Galleon on the table and headed for the door.

There, they were stopped by the waitress that had served them. Apparently, she had something on her mind.

"Before you to youngsters leave, I allow me to say that you are such an adorable couple!"

Ginny's mind had a breakdown then. Couple? No one could actually believe that they were a couple, they couldn't! The thought was repulsing and absurd, but most of all not likely! If she ever got together with that jerk, she would declare herself insane if not someone else did it before her.

Before she could correct the woman's mistake, the blonde beat her to it. "Couple? You must be mental", he replied with a smirk. "I'm obviously this girl's love coach."

With that, Malfoy pushed her through the door, leaving behind a puzzled woman following them with her gaze.

-----

Standing outside the hairdresser, Ginny was reluctant to enter the shop. After all, who knew what she might look like when she came out from it again?

From behind, the Slytherin was heard sighing. "Weasley, you will never become a man-eater if you're afraid of a haircut", he said mockingly to her before he forced her inside the house.

It was a light and pleasant feeling in the shop that Ginny might have enjoyed was she not so terrified over her haircut to-be. Forcing herself to move her legs, she slowly made her way towards the counter, where a man was waiting.

Well there, Malfoy had had enough of her doubts and took the matter into his own hands.

"We would like to get a haircut for this girl so that she no longer looks like a little innocent girl", he explained to the man, whom nodded in reply.

The hairdresser led the red-head to a chair, told her to relax and then the transformation began.

-------

An hour later, Ginny exited the shop with a brand new hairstyle. Her once straight hair had been exchanged into corkscrew curls that reached a bit below her shoulders. Furthermore, she had gotten a fringe.

Despite her earlier qualms, she was quite pleased with the haircut and it also made her feel more confident than before.

Malfoy, whom exited the shop half a minute or so later than her after taking care of payment, went over to her and smiled smugly.

"Well, well Weasley", he said. "I do believe things are beginning to look up for you. Now you have the right hair and when we get you into your new cloths, you might even look remotely like a man-eater."

She gave him a smile as a reply and then began to head towards the main part of the village, so that she could return back to the school.

However, since she had never before been in this part of Hogsmeade, she did not know the way back. Turning towards the blonde, he sighed before taking the lead.

It took them ten minutes to return back to the vacant street they had met up in all those hours ago and it was there Malfoy decided that they were to bide farewell.

"Thank you for everything today", Ginny said.

Malfoy waved his hand nonchalantly at her gratitude. "It was the least I could do for you. If I would have sent you on your own, you would most likely not have found anything decent. So you might say I did it to save myself from an eyesore."

She smiled. It seemed that he had reached his limit when it came to being almost decent towards another human being and that he was trying to make up for all those lost hours of not being a bastard.

Oh, never mind. Soon she would be out of his sight and therefore not the victim of his future assaults, at least not until she had her next coaching.

"Oh, cut it out Malfoy", she said smilingly.

"Never", he replied and smirked at her.

She shook her head and was just about to give him a reply when she saw something that made her heart skip two beats. Her brother accompanied by his two best friends, Harry and Hermione, coming towards them.

Oh dear lord. She should have known something like this would happen.

Her horrified stare made Malfoy turn his head and when he turned it back, the smirk had been replaced by a frown.

Panicking, Ginny began to look for ways to avoid the trio, but soon realised that it was too late as Hermione had spotted her and called her name.

Trying to avoid a disaster, she hastily whispered to Malfoy. "Pretend that you're mocking me."

The boy raised his eyebrows a bit, but soon did what she had told him and as the trio was only a few feet away, he was in the middle of an insult regarding her family's house.

"… It wouldn't surprise me one bit if that house of yours fell down one day, as poorly built as it is. Maybe it might even bring a few of you down with…"

"Malfoy, leave my sister alone!" Ron called from behind and hurried to Ginny's side, standing protectively between her and the blonde.

The Slytherin gave him a taunting smirk. "Or what?"

"Or we are going to make you", Harry, whom came to stand next to Ron, hissed ferociously.

The three boys exchanged intense glare between each other, until Hermione grabbed hold of both Ron and Harry's arms.

"Let's go. He is not worth it."

Turning away from Malfoy, Ron and Harry grudgingly continued along the road together with Hermione.

Before following the three, Ginny turned her head back at Malfoy. Her eyes met the sight of Draco Malfoy winking at her and mouthing 'Until next time'. Shaking her head, she focused her gaze on the road in front of her and hurried after the others.

When she caught up with them, Hermione was the first to speak to her. "Did he do anything to you?" She looked at the girl with worried eyes for the second time that day.

Ginny shook her head. "No."

"Good", Ron said. "Or otherwise I would rip his limbs from his body and…"

"Calm down Ron", Hermione said and took his hand. "Let's talk about something else than him."

"Yeah, let's", Harry said and looked at Ginny. "Did you cut you hair?"

Ginny met his eyes hesitantly. "Yes, I did", she quietly replied.

The Boy Who Lived nodded. "It looks good on you."

The red-head's cheeks matched her hair. "Thank you", she replied even quieter and gave him a timid smile.

--------------------------

AN: FYI! Ginny's original haircut is just like the one in the movies and if you want to take a look at Ginny's new haircut, here's a link to a picture of what I had in mind when I wrote this chapter: .. Unfortunately, it is not the right colour, but I hope you will get the picture anyways!


	4. Clerpocks

AN. Wops, the link didn't show up in the end of the last chapter, so here it is again^^" .

Copy and paste it!

Chapter 4

It was the end of November and Ginny Weasley was standing in front of a huge mirror, trying on some of her new cloths. A week had passed since her and Malfoy's visit to Hogsmeade and for the sixth time that week, she was trying to decide which cloths to wear. Before, she had had troubles choosing her garment because lack of clothing; now she was having the opposite problem!

Life was ironic sometimes.

Finally deciding on a dark purple top and a pair of knee-long trousers, she moved on to putting on some make-up. This week's coaching had consisted of Malfoy teaching her how to dress correctly as well as putting on make-up. Once again, her coach had stunned her with his hidden skills, yet at the same time made her thoughtful. Why in the world did Malfoy know how to put on make-up?

Of course, the blonde was multi-talented, but there was a limit to how much he could and should know!

Despite having these questions swirling around in her head the whole week, she decided that it was better not to ask. Some things are better left unsaid.

Finishing with a bit of rouge on her cheeks, the Gryffindor looked at her reflection in the mirror and nodded approvingly. She was ready to eat breakfast.

As she walked down the stairs, she met up with Hermione and Ron, whom also seemed to be heading for the Great Hall.

"Good morning Ginny", Hermione said and took a look at her. "Are you wearing new cloths again?"

Out of all the people Ginny knew, Hermione was the only one that had taken notice of her new cloths during the whole week.

"Yes, I am", she replied hastily and avoided Hermione's eyes.

Ron turned his head towards her. "You got new cloths?" He asked and looked at her in surprise. "How'd you afford that?"

"Em.. Fred and George gave me some money for my birthday and I saved it all for something special."

"They gave you money for your birthday?!" Ron gaped at her. "The only thing I got was a bag filled with puking pastilles!"

Ron continued to voice his discontent about this injustice as they made their way down the stairs and Ginny was certain that her explanation would stop any further questions about her new wardrobe.

That was until she glanced at Hermione.

The frizzy-haired girl was eyeing her suspiciously and appeared to be trying to put something together in her mind. Something that would put Ginny in a rather unpleasant situation.

What was it with Hermione and always letting her brain do all the work? Couldn't she for once STOP thinking?

Trying to divert the elder girl's thoughts, Ginny spoke. "Where's Harry?"

The question made Hermione uncomfortable, and she gave Ginny a sad look. "Well, he's…"

Before she could finish her sentence, Ron cut the brunette off. "He's off trying to work up the courage to ask Cho to the Yule Bal", Ron said and ruined Ginny's day. "It's only three weeks left you know!"

Hermione gave Ginny yet another sad look; the elder girl had found out about Ginny's feelings for the Boy Who Lived some years ago and realized what an effect Ron's information would have on her.

Ginny stopped in her tracks. "I just remembered I forgot something", she murmured and before the other two could say anything, she turned around and rushed up the stairs.

Before closing the door behind her, she heard a cry of agony, coming from her brother and Hermione who was "sincerely sorry" for accidentally kicking him in the shin.

Closing the door behind her, Ginny fell down to the floor and sat there. All the confidence and self-esteem she had built up these last few weeks has vanished and been replaced with despair.

What good did it do to have these coaching lessons if Harry kept on pursuing Cho? If all he could see was that Asian beauty, how would Ginny have a chance to ever capture his heart?

She shouldn't let this put her down, she had after all yet to confess her feelings to the Boy Who Lived. In addition, since she had done nothing in order to make the boy interested in her, there was no way he would have lost his interest in Cho.

But still…

For what seemed to be ages, but really was only a half and hour, Ginny remained on the floor and was devoured by her sorrow. Then, after deciding that mourning wouldn't get her anywhere, she pulled herself together. After all, she still had a way to go before she had become a man-eater and when that time finally came, who knew what Harry might think of her then?

Heading for the Great Hall, she let this one thought comfort her.

------------

The breakfast was well needed and helped to improve Ginny's mood. It was amazing what a few slices of bread, a cup of pumpkin juice and a bowl of cereals could do to make you feel better!

However, no matter how delicious the breakfast may have been, nothing could save Ginny from the hurt she would feel from the shocking news she was soon to be told.

Rushing through the Hall, Harry headed towards the Gryffindor table and called the names of his two best friends.

Stopping in front of Ron and Hermione, the black-haired boy took a couple of deep breaths in order to regain his breath before speaking.

"Cho said she might go to the bal with me!" The grin on the boy's face was wide. "Can you believe it?"

All air escaped from Ginny's lungs.

No, please not this.

"That's great mate!" Ron said and returned Harry's smile.

No, it was horrible.

Hermione was more hesitant to what Harry had said. "She might go with you to the bal?" She asked, with a pensive look on her face. "So she is not certain that she wants to accompany you?"

Hope, a slight hope, building up inside of her…

"No, that's not it. She might not be here during the Christmas, since her parents wanted to spend it with her. But she will try to do whatever she can to make them change their mind, she really wants to go with me!" Harry's smile widened.

… only to be crushed by a few words.

Having endured as much as she possible could, the red-head drank the last of her juice, before leaving two cheerful boys and a concerned girl behind.

-------------

For the second time that day, Ginny was consumed by sorrow. Self-pity was not something she often practised, but today she could think of no other way to handle her hurt.

Stupid, stupid, STUPID boy for making her feel this way. And silly little girl for getting hurt by this! Had she not already convinced herself that Harry was still out of her reach as long as she acted the way she currently did? So why did it hurt her so much? Why did it feel like her heart was about to break?

Maybe it was because of Cho's new-found interest in the boy. Before, the Asian had always over-looked him, making Ginny believe that she had a chance to gain Harry's affection, but now? Now the feeling appeared to be mutual and what could she do? She knew deep down that if the two of them got together, she would never be able to try to steal the boy away from Cho. After all, Harry had had a tough time and deserved to be happy, so if that happiness was with Cho, how could Ginny deny him that?

But still, stupid boy for making her feel this way! Perhaps it would all be better if she gave up on him and moved on with her life?

Or should she proceed with the coaching, and cling to that last shred of hope?

Lost in thoughts, the day went on and Ginny kept on hiding in her haven: an abandoned classroom not that different from the one she usually had her coaching in.

The afternoon came and passed and Ginny realized that it might be a good idea to return to the common room soon, so that she would not be caught after the curfew. However, every time she had decided on heading back, she remembered why she was there and became discouraged once again.

It was not until the door opened, that Ginny was able to move, if only it was to stand up and see who it was in the doorway.

Entering the room, Luna wore a distant look on her face and a ridiculous-looking hat on top of her head while holding a strange piece of metal in her hand that was glowing with a faint green light.

Suffering from a lack of words, mainly because the bright orange hat with stuffed pixies here and there had captured all her attention, Ginny simply gaped at Luna with amazement. It seemed that the Ravenclaw would never cease to surprise her.

"Oh Ginny, are you also looking for Clerpocks?" Luna said when she noticed the other girl and put down the metal piece and went over to the red-head.

"Em… Not really", she replied.

"Oh, okay", Luna said before taking a seat next to her.

After a few minutes of silence, the blonde spoke. "It is Harry isn't it?"

Shocked by this sudden question, Ginny couldn't do anything else than nod.

Luna looked up in the roof and seemed to look at something Ginny couldn't see. "Is it that he asked Cho to the Yule Bal? She was talking about it in the common room earlier."

The Gryffindor remained quiet and looked at the same spot as Luna. It appeared that there was a crack in the roof.

"You know, Clerpocks can only be found in dark corners", the Ravenclaw said after another couple of minute of silence. "They can't stand the sun nor open spaces."

It was oddly comforting to hear about the Clerpocks, whom seemed to be unknown by the rest of the world with the exception of Luna's father, and it took Ginny's mind of everything else. It might have been what the Ravenclaw had had in her mind, maybe not. It was Luna Lovegood after all and how her mind worked was a mystery yet to be solved.

Whatever the case was, Ginny slowly felt better and was soon able to ask various questions about these strange creatures. She even managed to try to look for the Clerpocks together with Luna.

After an hour or so of searching, Ginny glanced towards the window and noticed that it was rather dark. If she didn't return to the common room soon, she might be caught by Filch after curfew and that was not really something she felt like doing today.

Deciding that the search would have to end for the day, she and Luna made their way towards the door and left the classroom. They walked side by side, talking a bit, before they parted on the second floor and headed to respective common rooms.

Silently walking down the corridor, Ginny felt peckish. Of course, it was not to be unexpected, since she had not eaten anything since breakfast, many hours ago.

So, as she had passed through the portrait hole, she summoned a house elf and asked for a sandwich or such to be brought to her as quickly as possible. The house elf bowed and eagerly replied that he would get right to it, before disappearing with a puff.

Not wanting to head to the dormitory quite yet, she sat down in the almost empty common room in an armchair near the fire, awaiting her food.

It soon arrived and she happily munched on the chicken sandwich and hot cup of tea the elf had brought her.

As she sat there, finishing her meal, someone came from behind and placed a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she found Hermione standing there with a worried face. Was that to be the new expression Hermione was to make every time she saw Ginny?

"Are you alright? I didn't see you during dinner", Hermione said as she sat down in a sofa opposite of Ginny.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I got caught up with looking after Clerpocks", the red-head replied and smiled.

-----

Another AN! =O

What? No Draco in this one? Unfortunately not, but I promise he will be in the next one =P Oh and sorry if this chapter might not be that joyful, but it simply ended up that way ^.^" Hopefully the next one will be better ^_^"


	5. The Hunt

AN: So sorry that I haven't uploaded until now! My computer broke and I didn't get one until two weeks after the other one had died and since then I've not quite been in the right mood to write anything ^^" But I'm here now and hopefully, will be able to update a lot faster than this time!

Anyways, as I mentioned in an earlier chapter, the Yule Ball has become a yearly tradition to honour the memories of everyone that have fallen victim to Voldemort. Furthermore, you now have to be in fifth year or older to attend the Ball, unless you get invited by an older student. In this story, Ginny has never attended the Yule Ball before and therefore has no experience.

Chapter 5

Wednesday evening and coaching with Malfoy again. Ginny found herself daydreaming about hexing the boy into silence. Why? Well, he was being himself, a good enough reason for anyone.

"I heard that Potter asked Chang to accompany him to the ball." The blonde was smirking conceitedly and seemed utterly amused by this little news that had spread across Hogwarts the past few days.

The red-head ignore his comment and stared blankly ahead. She was not up for taunting that moment, but it appeared that her coach was having too much fun mocking her to stop.

Perhaps she should leave, since it appeared he was incapable of being of any use this evening?

"Is it making you jealous?"

The question caught Ginny's attention and she sent a death glare at the boy. He was trying to get a reaction out of her and if he didn't watch himself, he might bloody well get one!

"Are you going to stand here all night, mocking me? Or are you actually going to coach me?" Ginny sneered to the boy and stared at him maliciously.

He raised his eyebrows in amusement, but refrained from taunting her further.

"So, what are we going to do with you today?" The Slytherin circled around her, appearing to be looking for flaws to perfect. "I daresay that on the outside, you are looking rather stunning, however, there is still one vital matter we will have to address and quickly."

Giving her an intense look, Malfoy stopped in front of her and was in the role of playing the drama queen again. Seriously, could he never tell anything to her face without all the fuss?

Of course he couldn't, he was Draco Malfoy!

"Your personality", he said after yet another pause and the remained silent.

Ginny let out a little yawn.

She had know that this was coming and despite all the trouble the blonde had gone through to create a dramatic feeling about this crucial point of their coaching, she had quickly dissolved it by showing no apparent interest or surprise by his statement.

Really, didn't he believe her to posses any type of brainpower and being able to figure this one out on her own?

The boy gave her a mean glare. "That is not the answer I expected. You are suppose to go 'Oh no, really? I would have never guessed!' and not yawn in my face!"

Malfoy seemed utterly frustrated by her reaction and Ginny found herself enjoying the feeling.

"Did you honestly believe that I would not remember you criticising my personality at the beginning of this coaching business?" She answered and wore a slightly mocking smile on her lips. "Although Gryffindors might not be known for their intelligence, I'm quite able to put two and two together!"

He gave her a doubtful look, but dropped the subject, luckily for him, and continued on with his little speech.

"As a man-eater, you will sometimes have to step on other's feelings in order to gain your object, in your case, gaining the boy of your affection. However, if you are too soft-minded, you will never be able to accomplish your goal and therefore, you most learn to be harder."

Here he gave her a serious look, as if to emphasis the point even more.

"Soon, the Yule Ball will be held and during that occasion, I want you to stun your date with both your looks and personality. This will…"

"I don't have a date yet", the girl cut him off.

Almost as soon as she had spoken, Ginny wished that she hadn't.

The eyes of the boy widened and he was staring at her in disbelief.

"Do you mean to say that you…"

"…got no date for the ball?" Ginny filed in. "Yes."

"You have no date for the ball!?" Malfoy barked.

"Em… No, not yet, but I was…" The red-head began, but was cut off.

"I thought I had taught you something, but clearly, you have not been paying attention! If you had, you would have taken care of this matter weeks ago!"

Looking the boy straight in the eyes, Ginny began to defend herself. "Well, I have had other things on my mind!"

It was the last drop for Malfoy and he exploded. "Get out of here, NOW!" He exclaimed, before proceeding in pushing her towards the door. "You will not return back here until you have found a date, and it must be a date that has asked you and not the other way around! Got it Weasley?" He hissed the last words and before she could reply, he slammed the door into her face.

Ginny was in shock. Had he really thrown her out of the classroom because she had no date?

It appeared so. Furthermore, she was not allowed to return until she found one.

"Great", she muttered to herself and rested her head in her hands.

---------

Wandering around the corridors after being thrown out of her coaching, Ginny pondered about her newly appointed quest.

How was she supposed to find someone who willingly ask her to the ball on such short notice? As Malfoy had pointed out, she really should have taken care of this some time ago, but having coaching, friends and homework on her mind, it had simply slipped away from her to-do-list.

But then again, wasn't he supposed to be her love coach and help her with these things?

Oh well, she would have to solve this on her own. s

Still making her way through the corridors of Hogwarts a plan began to form in her mind. Even though not that many may still be available and even fewer with whom she wished to accompany her to the ball, there had to be someone decent left. And she was going to find that person.

But where to start? Tonight would most likely not be good, since almost everyone was hanging around in their common rooms. But tomorrow, tomorrow she would be off on a boy hunt!

----------

Thursday afternoon and Ginny was sitting in the Great Hall, trying to hear the gossip and hopefully hear something about a boy still not taken.

It appeared that everyone in Gryffindor that was in her year had already found themselves a date and now were only having trouble with what to wear.

What she wouldn't do to be one of them!

She didn't let this little notion put her down; instead she kept eavesdropping and was soon awarded for her spying. It appeared that a few of the elder, and even some that weren't too bad looking, boys had yet to choose a date and if she played her cards right, she might be that date!

After hearing some more information about the boys and their locations, Ginny left the Great Hall with a smile on her lips and headed towards the Quidditch pitch.

Despite it being a chilly, the sun was shining brightly and lured students out of the castle, where they enjoyed what was most likely to be the last day with nice weather.

Enjoying the fresh air, the red-head walked with light steps to the pitch, where about a dozen of people currently were residing. Now, here she ought to find someone!

She took a seat on the Ravenclaw benches, not to far from a giggling group of third-years. It seemed that most of them had the same idea as her, but were even more desperate as they were not even allowed to come to the ball without an elder escort.

Inside, Ginny was feeling a bit smug. At least she was old enough not to have those worries.

Turning her attention to the practise taking place in front of her, she saw the Ravenclaw team passing a ball between them. It was not until now Ginny realised that Cho was on this particular team.

She had rather not see the girl at all, but as she was already there, it would be a waste not to grasp this opportunity. Furthermore, she had a mission to fulfil!

If the rumours were true, both the chaser Jeremy Stretton and the keeper Grant Page had still to find themselves a date.

Studying the two from afar, the Gryffindor tried to distinguish their faces, which was not the easiest tasks as they were several meters away from her and now moving in high-speed.

It took about ten minutes until she had gotten a good look at the two and came to the conclusion that Jeremy was the better-looking one of the two, as Grant had the looks of an ogre and a gnome having a baby, which they accidentally stepped on one day when they hadn't been looking.

It was time to put her newly acquired man-eater moves into action.

For the rest of the practise, Ginny kept her eyes on Jeremy at all times, making sure that the boy became aware of her presence. Every time he caught her eyes, she gave him a slight smile and looked what she hoped to be very inviting as well as alluring.

Her trick appeared to be working and more and more often, the boy cast a look her way. Now she only had to get him to talk to her and hopefully her problems would be solved.

But how to approach him smoothly?

The answer to Ginny's question came flying straight at her in the form of a Quaffle. Without thinking about it, the red-head caught the ball before it could hit her in the face.

"Are you alright?" Someone shouted from the pitch and as Ginny looked up, she noticed that it was Jeremy.

This had to be her lucky day!

The boy flew towards her, followed by most of the Ravenclaw team, and jumped off the broom when he had solid ground under him.

Trying to remain cool, the girl nodded and flashed her most charming smile. "Yes, I believe so", she replied.

"I'm glad to hear it", the boy said, returning her smile with one of his own.

From behind, the other players had landed and the captain, Roger Davies, was now besides them.

"Good that you are not hurt, or else we would have been really sorry, wouldn't we, RANDOLPH?" The captain roared out the name, making Randolph, a pale and rather miserable-looking fellow in the back, blush and nod slightly while he tried to avoid eye contact with both the captain and Ginny.

After another harsh glare from Davies, making the younger boy's cheeks even redder, the captain decided that the boy had been punished enough and called out that they would be ending the practise for the day.

The team headed to the changing room and soon there was only Jeremy and Ginny left on the benches. Even the annoying third-years had gone off somewhere.

Probably off spying into the boys' locker room. Not that she cared, it suited her perfectly.

"You might want to have this one back", Ginny said and handed over the Quaffle.

The boy took it and looked into her eyes. "You have great reflex, ever wanted to be on the Quidditch team?" The boy asked and gave her a bright smile.

He really was good-looking.

"Not really", she replied and returned his smile. "I only play with my brothers every now and then."

"Who are your brothers?"

"The Weasleys, you know the red-heads that have been tormenting Hogwarts way too long now." She rolled her eyes.

Jeremy laughed at her comment. "No wonder you're so good, being related to Charlie Weasley AND the twin brothers Weasley. Charlie even used to be my idol when I was younger!"

Ginny felt pride running through her veins that moment. Her family might be poor, but they were certainly not unheard of and here at Hogwarts, most had respect for her elder brothers.

With the exception of Ron. If ever someone said they admired that buffoon, she would be the first one asking if they recently had been residing at St. Mungos!

Their chat continued on and they were soon speaking about their favourite Quidditch player and moves they would like to try out. Things were going extremely well.

That was until a call from behind sounded and what appeared to be one of the giggling girls from earlier headed their way.

"Jeremy, I've been looking for you everywhere!" The girl said and without waiting on a reply, she threw herself into a hug. "We have to go now if we are to be on time you know!"

"Yes", the boy simply responded and turned his attention once again to Ginny. "It been nice talking to you, but I really got to go now." Jeremy gave Ginny an apologetic smile.

The Gryffindor replied with a "same to you", before the younger girl began to drag Jeremy away and started to talk about how fun it would be "going to the ball together!". When they had reached the end of the pitch, the girl turned her head and stuck out her tongue at Ginny.

Ginny knew defeat when she saw it, but that she just lost to a third-year with pig-tails did leave its mark! Forget her saying this was her lucky day; she clearly was having some bad karma!

-------

After the failed attempt in trying to make Jeremy her date, Ginny was back in square one. Or well, not exactly square one, the girls had been talking about some other boys hanging out in the library that also seemed to be available. So that was her next stop!

Quickly moving through the Hogwarts castle, Ginny soon reached the library and entered it with high hopes.

Walking around in it, she looked after the rumoured dateless boys. They were found far in the library, where Madam Pince's looks could not see them. And lucky for them, since two of them were currently munching on chocolate frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans.

If Pince saw them, she would have a fit!

Standing by a bookshelf near to them, Ginny looked at the books in it while trying to hear what they were talking about.

As it happened, their current subject was the Yule Ball, in particular that a certain boy amongst them didn't have someone to go with, namely Justin Finch-Fletchley.

Now wasn't that an interesting surprise? The boy that had been terrified of Harry trying to kill him during their second year was in need of a date and since he had a pretty face as well as seemed quite nice, despite the paranoia bit, he was in luck!

Smiling conceitedly to herself, Ginny began to move closer to the group, still appearing as if she was looking at the shelves.

"Oh, come on Justin, why haven't you got a date?" One of the Hufflepuffs at the table asked.

Justin squirmed in his seat. "It's just… That no one's been interesting", he mumbled.

Another Hufflepuff student, Ernie Macmillan, let out a chuckle. "That's what you're trying to make us believe, but I know you! You're afraid they might turn you down!"

A faint mumbling was heard from Justin, which appeared to something along the lines: "No, I'm not."

It was really a poor attempt at trying to convince the other boys and Ernie wasn't late to point it out.

"Oh, come on Justin!" The boy said and crossed his arms. "We all know the truth so there's no need to lie."

The brown-haired boy remained silent.

"Now, let's see if we can help you with that fear of girls you have, shall we?" Ernie looked around and his eyes fell on Ginny. "Ey, girl by the shelves, mind coming over for a second?"

Was this seriously happening?

Uncertain what else to do, Ginny walked up to the group.

"Oh, you're that Weasley girl!" Ernie reached out his hand. "Ernie Macmillan. And this is my friend Justin."

Ginny shook both Ernie and Justin's hands, before being offered a seat at the table.

"Excuse me for being frank", Ernie began, ignoring Justin's red cheeks. "But if this bloke asked you to the Yule Ball, would you turn him down?"

Ginny pretended to think about it even tough she already knew what to answer.

"Well, I suppose I wouldn't since he looks like he's a nice guy", she replied. "As long as I didn't have another date that is."

The blonde boy nodded approvingly. "There you see Justin! There's nothing to be afraid of!"

As it appeared that Ernie thought his work was done, he turned back to the other boys and jumped into their discussion.

Now was her chance!

"So, you're not that good with girls?"

Right after she had spoken, she realised that it might not have been the best of questions, as Justin once again started to squirm in his seat.

Oh well, done was done.

"I um…simply don't feel that comfortable talking to them at all times", the Hufflepuff replied with some difficulty.

"Is that so?"

Even though he had claimed that he had trouble speaking with girls, Ginny couldn't quite see that side of him. As soon as he stopped being overly nervous, his mouth went on and on. It never appeared as if he would stop talking.

Not that she minded, he was rather fun to listen at. Furthermore, the more he talked, the more confident Ginny got that as long as she played her cards right, he would be asking her to the ball within the hour!

In the middle of their discussion, Ernie cut in and asked Justin if he could find a book for the blonde boy. Being a Hufflepuff, Justin immediately replied that he'd go and find it and excused himself.

"Nice fellow, is he not?" Macmillan said as Justin turned around the corner.

Ginny nodded in reply. "Yes and very chatty."

"Tell me about it, I've been living in the same dormitory as him the last five years and a half!" Ernie let out a laugh. "By the way, care for a chocolate frog?"

Ginny accepted it gratefully; she was beginning to feel hungry and the chocolate would still that hunger for a bit longer.

If only she would have known what consequences taking the chocolate frog would have!

From around the corner, Madam Pince appeared and from the look of it, she was in a rather foul mood.

Oh uh.

"How many times do I have to remind you that you DO NOT EAT IN THE LIBRARY!?" The woman shrieked and gave them all a furious look. "Out of here, and don't come back until you've learnt to respect the rules!"

With that, the Madam Pince shoved the ones that hadn't gotten away from her attention out of the library and Ginny soon found herself standing outside.

Looking around, she realised that Justin, who hadn't come back after his book-hunt and therefore had escaped the enraged librarian's fury, was still in the library.

She didn't dare to return back in, not with Pince being in that mood. The only option left was waiting outside and hope that he would soon exit the library.

After ten minutes of waiting, it didn't appear as if the Hufflepuff was going to come out any time soon and as Ginny was beginning to feel rather ridiculous standing her all by herself, she gave up.

Dishearten, she went away trying to find her luck elsewhere. It appeared that fate was having fun messing with her.

----

Ginny was frustrated. She had tried her best at getting a date this past three days and failed! And the worst part of it was that in most cases, it wasn't even the boys themselves that turned her down or something like that. No, there were always other people around her that ruined everything.

If she didn't know better, she'd say that she had been cursed!

With heavy steps, she returned back to a common room that was filled with too many happy faces. It seemed like she was the only one having trouble finding a date!

Since the emptiness of the dormitory did not appeal to her that moment, she spotted Ron and Hermione sitting near the fire. It appeared that Harry was off elsewhere and it suited her perfectly, as she didn't need him to make her even more discouraged.

Falling down next to Hermione on the sofa, Ginny let out a sigh.

Putting down her book, the brunette looked at her. "Are you alright?"

"Ugh, Hermione, please end my suffering", the red-head groaned. "If you cast the Avada Kedavra on me, I promise I won't tell anyone!"

"You really shouldn't make those types of jokes!" Hermione seemed genuinely upset.

"What if I said it wasn't a joke?" The red-head looked at her with serious face.

A moment or two with a strained silence followed.

"Nothing could be that bad", the brunette said, breaking the silence.

"But it is! I've tried to get a date to the Yule Ball for three days now and I still haven't found one! My life is over!"

Here the younger girl made a dramatic gesture before hiding her face in one of the sofa's pillows.

As she lay there, she could feel Hermione's eyes on her. She knew that she was being silly and that this wouldn't be the end of her, but she still felt like making a scene.

Perhaps it was a side-effect of spending too much time with the drama queen Malfoy?

"Well, I'm positive that you will manage", the elder girl said. "I know that it is hard not getting asked to the ball, but it is not the end of the world!"

Ginny raised her head. "Oh really? Have you ever been dateless to the ball?"

Hermione became baffled. "Erm… No, but I'm sure that…"

"Hah! So then you don't know how it feels!"

Another silence followed and the only thing that could be heard was Ron chewing on something. It appeared that her brother was trying to avoid being a part of this discuss.

It was nice to know that her brother was always there for her!

A new thought popped up in Ginny's mind. "Wait a minute, you said that you've never been dateless, but you haven't said anything about who's taking you this year!"

Ginny's question made the elder girl blush slightly. Furthermore, Ron began to squirm in the armchair he was sitting in.

It really wasn't hard to put the pieces together.

"I'm going with Ron", the elder girl said in a barely auditable voice.

No kidding? Ginny would have NEVER figured that out!

"Oi, Ginny", her now blushing brother said and turned her way. "We got a letter from mum. I've already written a reply, so when you're done with it, you can post it."

He threw a letter towards her and before she could inquire anything further about this little interesting news, Ron continued to eat on his candy while Hermione dived back into her book.

Inside the red-head was laughing at them. They were so cute!

She simmered through the letter containing the information about what her parents and siblings up to, that the garden gnomes were as persistent as every and that their parents were going to miss them during Christmas etc., before borrowing one of Hermione's quills and began on a reply.

Barely was she done writing it, before Harry came into the common room and sat next to her. He seemed to be in a good mood.

"Hey Harry, how did things go with Cho?" Ron asked before taking another bite of his candy.

"It was great", the black-haired boy replied and wore a big smile on his lips.

And that was Ginny's cue to leave.

Hastily getting up, she muttered that she would go and post the letter, before she rushed out of the room.

----------

Now, rushing to the owlery might have been a bit of an over-reaction. She could after all have borrowed Pig from Ron.

Hopefully, no one would ask her why she hadn't.

As it turned out, it was a good thing that she had headed to the owlery, as a house elf appeared before her halfway there, carrying a letter from Malfoy.

What if he had delivered it in front of the trio? Ginny really wouldn't like to think about what lie she would have been forced to tell if the house elf had.

Ripping the letter open, she found that Malfoy was expecting her at seven that evening, with good news. Otherwise she could crawl into a corner and sob, because she would lose two hours of entertaining company.

That was a direct quote.

Pondering what do, Ginny entered the owlery. She hadn't been lucky in her hunt and she felt that time was running out. Where had she gone wrong?

Her only comfort was that she wouldn't be the only one dateless, since it was unlikely that Crabbe and Goyle would have found anyone. Ginny couldn't imagine them going to the ball and even less with dates!

Wait a minute. Crabbe and Goyle, ey? Malfoy knew them and maybe, if she explained herself well enough, he might…

'Stop that thought right there Ginerva! Crabbe and Goyle!? Have you gone completely mental!? Would you really like to be seen in either one's company?' Her inner mind was screaming at her.

No, not really she answered herself. Truth be told, she'd rather have a house elf as a date.

Hang on, house elf? Dobby was a close acquaintance to her brothers, so if she asked him to take her to the ball, he would most likely do it. After all, he wouldn't want to let the sister of Ron down. And if he didn't want to take her, she could always bribe him with a sock…

Yes, she had gone mental. She let out a hysterical laughter to prove it.

St. Mungos, watch out!

From behind, the sound of someone clearing their throat brought Ginny back to reality and she stopped her laughing.

Turning around, she found Neville looking at her with a worried and slightly frightened look.

Note to self: if she's going to behave like a lunatic, she had to make sure she did it somewhere where others wouldn't find her.

"Are you alright Ginny?" Neville asked and took a hesitant step towards her.

'Of course I am, I'm only trying out my new maniac laughter!' Ginny thought to herself.

Out loud, she said a shorter version. "Yes."

She really didn't know what else to say that wouldn't make the boy doubt the well-being of of her mental health.

"Oh… Okay." He went over to the owls and picked one that was hazelnut-brown.

After tying a letter to its leg, he petted it gently on the head before letting it out on its mission.

Watching the owl fly away, Neville let out a sigh.

"Written a letter filled with bad news?" The red-head said before she could stop herself.

It wasn't any of her business, but curiosity had taken the better of her. He wouldn't probably not even answer the question.

To her surprise, he did. "I suppose you could say that." A melancholic look spread across his face. "My grandmother wanted me to find someone to take to the Yule Ball, but I haven't. I don't like disappointing her, she has so high hopes about me, considering everything my parents did…"

Another sigh escaped the boy.

"Oh… I'm sorry." She placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and hoped that it would comfort him. "If it cheers you up, I don't have a date either!"

The girl let out a laugh. Hopefully the boy wouldn't notice how hysterical it was.

"You don't?" He seemed to doubt her. "But, you should have no trouble with it at all!"

"I wish!" She let out another laugh.

A short silence followed, before Neville looked at the red-head with a determent. "W… would you like t…to go to the ball with me?"

He must have mustered up all his courage to ask her, but the girl didn't pay that thought any attention, as she was busy hearing a hallelujah symphony playing in her head.

She was saved!

"I'd love to go to the Ball with you Neville!" She replied and smiled her brightest smile.

The boy was baffled by her response; it appeared that he had been expecting a no from her.

Hah, as if! If fate finally was cutting her some slack, she wouldn't turn it down! And besides, there were worst dates than Neville!

-------------

Throwing up the door, Ginny made the Slytherin waiting inside turn his head towards her.

"I actually got asked by someone!" She was smiling cheerfully.

Draco cooked his eyebrow. "Oh? Who?"

"Neville!"

The look upon the Slytherin's face transformed from curiosity to horror.

"Wait, are you telling me that Longbottom has asked you to the ball?" The blonde couldn't hide his repulsion. "And you said yes!?"

The girl's mood dropped seemingly. "Um, yes, you did after all ask me to find a date", she replied less cheerful than before.

It was obvious that Malfoy didn't like this, not at all. He gave her a look that told her that he believed her to be insane as well as that he was disappointed with her.

"Ginny!" He barked. "How could you have Longbottom escort you to the dance? Have you gone mental?" He gave her a look that implied that he thought just that.

"No, not at all", the red-head replied. "He asked me and I accepted. Are you not pleased to hear that I found a date?"

He frowned. "Happy!?" He exclaimed. "Happy that you go around and spoil everything that WE have worked for!? Of course not!"

He started to pull his hair slightly out of frustration.

"So, I did bad?" Ginny asked hesitantly.

"In a way, yes!" The boy was merciless.

He walked around the classroom, trying to cool himself down.

"It was your first time being asked by someone, wasn't it?" The boy said after a few lapse around a bench.

The Gryffindor looked up in surprise. "Yes, it was", she began. "How did you…"

"Shush Weasley, it is obvious. If you had had any experience with going to the ball, you would know fully well that Longbottom is way below you. You must have standards!"

"I'm sorry… But everyone else was already occupied and wouldn't it have been worse if I would have no date at all? Besides, Neville is not that bad once you get to know him!"

The blonde sighed and gave her a sceptical look. "The reason why there was no one left is because you didn't do this earlier! If you would have been planning for this a bit earlier, we might have found you a better partner, but it is too late now."

Ginny felt ashamed. But why? She had no reason to be so, not really. Of course, she knew that Malfoy was a bit disappointed with her, but she had fulfilled her mission, had she not?

However, she knew deep down that she wanted to impress the boy and had now failed in doing so.

Sensing her melancholic, Malfoy sighed again. "Well, as I said it is too late now to change anything. We will have to concentrate on making you look stunning and get all the looks from everyone else."

Ginny looked at him quizzically. What was he up to now?

"We will have to pay Cassandra another visit", he concluded. "Next weekend, we're going to Hogsmeade!"

---------------


	6. Sneaking Out

Chapter 6

When Malfoy had said that they would be going to Cassandra's to find Ginny a new set of dress robes, she had objected. She already had a dress robe and didn't need another one!

The blonde had laughed her in the face. Did she really believe that he had let her wear anything he hadn't picked out to her? Over his dead body.

Well, she could agree with that, but then they had another problem: how were they going to get to Hogsmeade? They weren't allowed to go to the wizard village until NEXT year!

Here, things got interesting. Suddenly, a very wicked smile had appeared on the Slytherin's face and he was staring intently at her.

"We'll sneak out, obviously." He had replied, the grin of his face growing wider by the second.

She had begun to argue with him, but he had simply waved away her attempts.

"I know that those ghastly twin brothers of yours had ways of getting out of Hogwarts every now and then, and I'm quite positive that they shared this secret with you!"

After a very faint attempt at trying to convince the blonde otherwise, Ginny had spit out where one of the secret passages to the village was.

So here she was, skulking about around the hideous statue of the one-eyed witch, awaiting the arrival of a certain blonde.

Pacing back and forth through the corridor, the red-head became more and more nervous. If she had thought that going to Hogsmeade last time had been bad, this was a hundred times worse! If ever someone found out about it, they would not only lose house points, but would most likely get detention. Or worse, even get expelled!

Ginny could only to well picture the howler her mother would be sending if Mrs Weasley ever found out about this. And that would be nothing compared to the real version that would be awaiting Ginny once she got home.

Not for the first time, the Gryffindor wondered if it had been wise to tell Malfoy about the secret passage. But what could she do now? It was already too late to turn back.

"Hello Weasley", Malfoy, who appeared out of nowhere, whispered into Ginny's ear, making the girl's heart skip a few beats.

She hadn't heard him walking up behind her and had therefore been startled by his sudden appearance. Something told the Gryffindor that this was exact the way Malfoy had wanted it.

That git.

"Oh, don't give me that look little Gryffindor", the blonde said after seeing Ginny's death glare. "I was only having a bit of fun and besides, you should be thankful. After seeing how miserable you were looking today, I thought that I would pull a prank to cheer you up!"

Hah, like she believed that excuse! The only one he was trying to cheer up was himself and they both knew it!

"Of course you did", she replied sarcastically.

Only the not too innocent-looking smile on the blonde's lips gave away his true intentions, but it faded too soon for Ginny to point out.

"Ready to break the rules a little?" The blonde said instead. He was shining with excitement.

Swallowing, the red-head nodded in reply and lightly taped the statue on its hump while saying "Dissendium".

Oh dear lord, now it began.

* * *

The passageway was dark, damp and quite cold. Further, it seemed as if Ginny had grown a bit since she last had gone through this tunnel and she had to walk with bended knees if she didn't want to hit her head in the ceiling. Over all, it wasn't a pleasant experience at all.

Her only comfort was that the blonde was having even more problems not hitting his head as he was a great deal taller than her.

Served him right.

"Now I'm disappointed Ginny!" Malfoy's voice exclaimed from behind. "This is not like the fantasy I had in my head. It supposed to be an old, yet quite cosy passage that will lead us to Hogsmeade, not this tunnel made by an over-sized rabbit!"

The girl rolled her eyes. "Oh, do forgive me, until next time I'll try to make it more into your liking", she answered spitefully.

"I wouldn't expect anything less."

If Ginny wouldn't have been leading the way, she most definitely would have tried to poke him in the back with her wand.

The trip towards the wizard village took a lot longer than Ginny had recalled. And it also was a lot more straining than last time, especially mentally, as Malfoy had started on a never-ending rant as soon as they had begun to walk.

It amazed the red-head that one boy was able to make more noise than ten girls put together.

At long last, they reached the end of the journey, at the top of the insanely long stone stair, which had made Malfoy complain more than ever.

Maybe she would let him walk in front of her on the way back to the castle and 'accidentally' bump into him so that he would roll down it. It would most certainly make him shut up.

Slowly emerging into the Honeyduke's basement, Ginny prayed that no one would see them. After all, how would they explain how they got in? 'Hi, we stumbled into this hole on the back of a statue and all of the sudden we where here!"

It simply didn't sound convincing enough.

Excruciatingly slow, the pair headed for the stairs leading out of the cellar and up to the store, careful not to bump into one of the many boxes filled with candy that resided down here.

It went much smoother than she had predicted and they had soon snuck out of the shop without ever running into one of the employees.

"Well, wasn't that fun Weasley?" The blonde was wearing a wide smile on his lips. "Sneaking out isn't that bad!" The boy let out a laugh

It appeared that he was enjoying himself..

"Fun!?" Ginny exclaimed. "If you call creeping through a long tunnel for almost an hour for fun, be my guest! But don't we have more important matters to think about, like if we really should be standing here so… visible?"

"What, are you scared?" Malfoy cooked his eyebrow. "Scared that we might get caught?"

"Of course I am and so should you!" The red-head cried out. "What if one of the professors spots us!?"

"The professors barely leaves they castle, why would they come here?" The Slytherin said and gave her a sceptic look. "They don't have a life after all! Answer me honestly, can you imagine McGonagall going down to Hogsmeade and ENJOY herself? Or Snape?"

The girl tried to picture it in her mind, but failed. "I suppose not."

"That's right, they are bloody hermits and wouldn't be seen here unless someone forced them into coming! So do try to relax and let's get going!"

Once again, the two of them headed towards Cassandra's shop and just like last time, they encountered no one. Soon, they had reached the familiar-looking little house and hurried inside.

"Oh, why hello there sweeties!" Cassandra said as she saw them. "How nice to see you again!"

The woman embraced the pair and smile one of her bright smile, making her eyes glint with joy.

"Now, what brings you here on such a day as this?" Cassandra asked after letting go of them.

"We're on a quest to relive this little Gryffindor of yet another hideous clothing, namely her dress robe", Malfoy replied without hesitation, earning another death glare from Ginny.

There was nothing wrong with the dress robe she had now! It was only a bit old and well-used… And it didn't have the greatest colour combination. But except that, there was nothing wrong with it!

"Oh, don't give me that look Weasley!" Draco said as he caught Ginny's glare. "I'm only telling the truth!"

"Oh, shut up blondie!" The Gryffindor snapped back.

Malfoy merely laughed quietly to himself, before turning back to Cassandra and putting on his gentleman-charade once again.

How could Cassandra not see through him!?

Deciding that it was not worth using her energy to remain angry at the boy, Ginny let go of the feeling and joined the pair, whom were already looking through racks of cloths.

"This would look lovely on you!" Cassandra said and put a purple gown in front of Ginny.

Draco frowned his eyebrows. "It's too innocent-looking; we have to find her something more fierce." He tossed the dress away onto the floor, beginning on a little pile.

That pile soon grew bigger, as clothing after clothing was being denied by Malfoy. It seemed that none of them were good enough for him.

"How about this one then dear?"

For what must have been the fifty-first time, Cassandra pulled out another gorgeous dress that Ginny could only dream of affording.

The boy eyed the robes intensely and for a moment it appeared that he was at last satisfied. That was until he added into the pile.

"The colour is too dull", he said before he once again began to search the racks.

Ginny sighed and sat down in an armchair. She wasn't having a great time and to be honest, it was rather tiresome to watch Cassandra and Malfoy run around the boutique trying to find the perfect gown. Couldn't they simply take one of the, according to Malfoy, decent-looking ones and be done with it?

As Ginny had given up the hope of ever leaving the shop and return back to the castle, she heard Malfoy cry out an 'AHA!'. Turning towards him, she found the boy with a wide smirk on his face, holding one of the most stunning dresses Ginny had ever seen.

"I do believe our mission is at its end!" He said and wasting no time, he threw the dress robe to Ginny and pushed her into the changing room.

Muttering angrily to herself about how the blonde could have been a little more gentle, the girl put on the gown and fell in love.

Exiting the cubic, she was met by the approving nods from Malfoy and Cassandra's flattery. However, none of this affected Ginny, as she was still enchanted by the clothing itself.

It was a beautiful, dark silver gown that had black details on it and fitted her like a glove The dress itself was of a simple design, but simple is elegant and as it made Ginny look dazzling, she could care less about the design.

"Yes, it's the one", Malfoy concluded after having worn a pondering face for a while. "This will defiantly make people notice you!"

Ginny simply nodded, still being in trance.

Cassandra smiled brightly at her and out of nowhere, she produced a matching cape for the dress.

"If you are going to wear this gown, I insist that you wear this one as well", Cassandra said and wrapped it around Ginny's shoulders.

Watching herself in the mirror, Ginny liked the reflection that she saw.

------------

Even though it had taken quite some time to find the dress, it was nothing compared to getting Ginny out of it.

It took some force and persuasive words before the girl, very reluctantly, changed back into her clothes.

Holding the bag carrying both the dress and the cape, Ginny headed for the door, closely followed by Draco. In the doorway, they both turned around to bide Cassandra good-bye.

Just like last time, the woman gave Ginny a kiss on the cheek. "It was nice that you could stop by", Cassandra said to the pair before they exited the shop.

They had only walked a few metres before Cassandra's voice cut through the air. "And children, do try to come by next time you are allowed to come to Hogsmeade!"

Turning towards her, Ginny saw an amused look cross the woman's face.

Did she know that they weren't allowed to be here this weekend?

Unwilling to find out the answer to that question, Ginny replied a silent 'yes' before quickly hurrying of after Malfoy.

When they were almost back at the Honeyduke, Draco turned around a corner and suddenly stopped, now wearing a slightly panicked expression. Ginny tried to peek around the corner, to see what had caused this reaction, but before she had a chance, the blonde grabbed hold of her arm and pushed her down to the ground.

"Ouch!" The girl exclaimed as she hit the ground hard. "Why did you do that for!?"

"Shush Weasley, or you'll expose us!" The boy quietly whispered to her.

"Expose us!?" The girl replied in an equally quiet matter. "To who?!"

"McGonagall, Flitwick and that oaf Hagrid."

The girl lost her breath. This was bad! Really bad! If they were spotted by anyone of them, it was bye bye Hogwarts!

"But you said that they never went out!" The red-head was panicking.

"I lied, what else do you think? Of course the teachers go out for a drink every now and then! You can't expect them to keep themselves locked up in the castle all the time!"

It was funny how Malfoy had all of the sudden flipped everything around and now was saying the exact opposite of what he had said earlier.

"What do we do now!?" The red-head shrieked, feeling the panic growing inside of her.

"Well, there really is only one thing we can do", the boy said.

"And what is that?"

"Make sure that they don't see us and try to get back to school as quickly as possible."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Great plan Mister Genius!"

"But of course, I'm Draco Malfoy", he replied and wore a crooked smile.

Ginny hit him hard on the arm.

"Ouch, that hurt!" Malfoy pretended to be teary-eyed. "Typical Gryffindor behaviour to use violence."

"Oh, shut it and let's find another way to the Honeyduke."

Back-tracking their steps a bit, they went through another series of deserted streets, hoping that they would not bump in to the professors. Ginny felt as if she was on a secret mission, trying to avoid being detected by the enemy. And maybe she was.

As soon as the candy shop was in view, the teenagers wasted no time. Crossing the street in high-speed, they could only hope that the teachers were nowhere near them.

Once inside the house, Ginny took a breath of relief, while trying to calm her heart beat down, before setting her sight on the basement.

Making sure that the employees of the candy shop was nowhere to be seen, the teenagers headed for the basement.

Walking through the labyrinth of boxes once again, they made their way to the secret passage. When they were almost there, a loud bang sounded from behind.

Turning around, the red-head found that several boxes were now lying on the floor and next to them, Draco stood, wearing a 'Ops, I didn't mean to do that, but I don't really care about it' look.

"Draco!" The girl sent an evil glare to the boy, before starting to descend the never-ending stairs.

Once inside the tunnel, Ginny tried to walk her fastest. She was sick and tired of this little sneaking out business and the sooner she got back to the castle, the better!

She did not stop until she heard something. A munching noise, coming from behind.

"Malfoy, are you eating on something?"

The noise stopped and a muffled 'no' came from the boy.

"You are!" The girl cried out. "Where did you get… Don't tell me that you took something out of one of the boxes that you pushed over!"

"Uf curs ay didn't." he replied, obviously having something inside of his mouth.

"You so did!" the girl exclaimed. "That's stealing!"

The boy swallowed. "Oh, shut up. They were on the ground and would have gotten dirty! And then they wouldn't have been able to sell them anyways, so I helped them out!"

After sending him a disapproving look, Ginny continued on.

Even though the walk to Hogsmeade had taken quite some time, the walk back seemed to go much faster. Perhaps it was because the Slytherin had not been complaining at all, as he was busy munching on his newly-acquired sweets.

Climbing out of the hump of the one-eyed witch, Ginny felt relived. They had, after some trouble, gotten back to the castle undetected, believe it or not!

"Well, that went exceptionally well, don't you think?" The boy said after emerging from the hole, wearing a bright and conceited smile.

She glared at him maliciously and wished that she had something heavy to throw at him.

Only getting a smug grin as a reply, Ginny decided that she had had enough of Draco's company for one day and without even biding him farewell, she began to walk towards the Gryffindor tower.

She was never EVER doing anything like this ever again!

-----

AN: I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and if you want to see how Ginny's dress looked like, you can find a link at my profile page, under the title Ginny's dress to the Yule Ball! Further more, I'll also try to upload the link of how her hair turned out after chapter 3, when I remember to actually do it ^.^"


	7. The Yule Ball

AN: So, this chapter took a little longer than planned, but it is out now, so I hope you will like it :D It is after all the chapter with the Yule Ball and who doesn't like balls? xD Anyways, before I let you read this chapter, I would Like to thank my new beta reader, Sawnah. She came as an angel sent from above and helped me with the few typos I did. Thank you so much for your help and I want you to know that I appreciate it a lot! And now, on to the chapter! ^w^

Chapter 7

Putting the Hogsmeade visit behind her, Ginny soon found herself finishing the last of her school assignments and at the beginning of the Christmas holidays.

As she was staying at school for the Yule Ball, she did not return back to the Burrow. Instead, she, like most of the remaining pupils at Hogwarts, was eagerly finishing the last of the preparations for the ball.

Soon, Christmas came and with it, presents. Just like every other year, the red-head had gotten a package from her mother, containing yet another one of Mrs Weasley's knitted sweaters.

Every year, Ginny felt extremely lucky to be a girl, so that she could wear purple and didn't have to get a maroon-coloured one like Ron always did. That colour didn't suit her brother well and would definitely not suit her!

Ransacking through the little pile at the end of her bed, Ginny opened present after present before finding a little box at the bottom of her pile. Curious at finding out what it was, she ripped of the paper, revealing a tiny snowflake-shaped necklace with matching earrings.

Not being able to realise who would send her this rather expensive-looking piece of jewellery, Ginny began to search for a note. Finding it, everything soon fell into place.

_Weasley, since we forgot to buy matching jewellery, I sacrificed a bit of precious time to fix this. Be grateful and wear them, or I shall make your life a living hell._

Even though the note was unsigned, the red-head had no trouble figuring out who it was from. She could clearly hear his voice in her head and even see a matching smug look on his face as he spoke them.

After putting the necklace and earrings together with her dress, Ginny proceeded to walk down to the Common Room. There, she found her brother and Hermione sitting on one of the couches. Ron was holding a bag filled with sweets in his hands, most likely a gift from the twins.

If he was lucky, the sweets wouldn't do anything to him. If she was lucky, they would.

"Why does mum insist on sending me sweaters that are maroon-coloured?" the boy asked his Ginny. "She knows I hate that colour!"

"Oh, but Ron, you look so cute in that colour!" his sister replied teasingly.

Sending his younger sister a harsh look, Ron turned his back towards her, determined to ignore her at any cost.

It appeared as if Ginny had irritated him.

"What's taking Harry so long?" Hermione wondered, looking up from her paper. "He isn't one to sleep late."

"Oh, Harry got up ages ago," Ron replied casually, still snacking on his candy. "He went out to spend some time with Cho."

Oh, this was just what Ginny needed to hear this early in the morning...

Ignoring Hermione's eyes, Ginny stole a few pieces of candy from her brother, before asking him what he had gotten for Christmas.

She soon cheered up as she realised she had gotten more, and better, presents than Ron and she was not too late to point that out. It made the boy rather grumpy and Ginny very happy.

There was nothing better than knowing that you were better loved than your elder brother.

Trying to maintain this cheerfulness, Ginny made sure to always be up to something. Most of the day was spent outside, having snowball fights with her fellow Gryffindors, before having the yearly Christmas Dinner in the Great Hall.

Just like every other year, Dumbledore held a short speech regarding the importance of holidays and that it should be spent in good company, such as this.

Her mood, along with rest of the school, was on top.

Joyfully, she engaged in conversations and enjoyed the food that was being served. Everyone was having a good time and even the professors were seen laughing and making jokes. And Ginny, along with the rest of the Gryffindor table, got herself a great, though very quiet, laughter, as Dumbledore shared a cracker with Snape and the potions master ended up with a shock pink witch hat which Dumbledore insisted that he should wear.

Snape fled the hall shortly after this.

Overall, it was a marvellous Christmas and it was very reluctantly that Ginny left the Great Hall to return back to the Common Room.

The following morning, Ginny dragged herself out of bed, most unwilling to leave it. She was beat, having stayed up long after mid-night and played wizard games together with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Dean. It wasn't the greatest way to prepare oneself for a ball the following evening, but as she had been able to spend time with Harry, she had no complaints at all.

Or at least almost none at all.

Slowly, the girl threw on some clothes and went down the stairs.

Heading down to the Great Hall for breakfast, she tried to rub away the drowsiness from her eyes, but failed. It appeared that she would have to be in zombie mode until she had gotten something into her stomach.

Once at the hall, Ginny treated herself to all sugary, and energy-filled, treats she could find and the food on her plate grew.

If it would have been a normal day, Ginny might have stopped to wonder if she really should digest this much sugar, but as it was Christmas, she felt that she could spoil herself a little. She had after all been a very good girl this year, especially if you considered the fact that she had spent an awfully lot of time in Malfoy's company without hexing the boy once!

To tell the truth, the Gryffindor was quite proud over this and convinced that not everyone could have performed such an act! But she had to admit that she had been very close to casting a nasty spell or two on the boy when he had behaved his worst.

Having devouring everything on the plate, Ginny came to the conclusion that eating too much food wasn't particularly good for you. Sure, she was no longer in zombie mode á la sleep, but as she now was in zombie mode á la I-think-I'll-puke-if-I-make-any-sudden-movements, she simply couldn't rejoice about this change.

Note to self: Do not over-eat. Makes you feel bad.

After a rather interesting trip back to the Gryffindor Tower, Ginny carefully sat down in an armchair and tried to stop feeling ill. If she would have had the energy, she might have climbed the stairs to the dormitory, but she didn't nor did she dare.

All she could do was sit in the armchair and hope that no one would disturb her.

As usual, her wish wasn't granted and her brother, who was still bitter from the previous night when he had lost to her time after time, came to brighten up her day.

"You look like you're about to throw up", the genius said, earning himself a malicious glare from Ginny.

Hoping that he would go away, she turned her back towards him. It didn't work however and he had soon walked around to the other side of the armchair.

"You know, you should try to watch how much you eat, what if you eat so much that you won't fit in to your dress robe?" the boy said and Ginny felt his hidden satisfaction over this reply.

It appeared that he was trying his best at provoking her, but being used to Malfoy's vicious remarks, the girl only felt a faint resentment towards her brother.

Not giving him a reaction, the boy soon got bored and went to another part of the room, where Hermione was currently residing.

Remaining in her armchair, Ginny began to feel drowsier by the minute, until she no longer could keep her eyes open and she fell asleep.

She did not wake up until someone gently shook her. Opening her heavy eyes, Ginny found herself looking up at Hermione, unable to understand how the girl had gotten there so quickly. The brunette had after all been on the other side of the room only moments ago.

Or that was at least what Ginny thought.

"If you don't want to miss the ball, you better wake up", the elder girl softly said. "And if you need some help with your preparations, I would be glad to help you."

Still slumberous,the girl nodded and attempted to stand up, only to fall back into the armchair. It appeared that her legs were just as tired as she was

Knowing what to expect this time, Ginny slowly stood up and made sure to hold on to something. Trying to shake her legs back to life, she took a firmer hold on the armchair and soon felt the uncomfortable bubbles run though them.

Deciding that the legs were awake enough to carry her, she slowly moved towards the dormitory. Finding it completely deserted, the red-head came to the conclusion that the other girls were off somewhere and preparing their outfits for the ball.

Which Ginny also should be doing, the Gryffindor realized, as she saw that the time was 4 p.m. This sudden realization made horror spread through the red-head's body.

How could she have been sleeping for almost three hours before such an important evening!

Stupid tasty food for making her drowsy!

Four hours filled with stress, panic and hair products later, Ginny at last was ready to attend the Yule Ball. But she wouldn't have been unless Hermione had stepped in, helping her with almost everything and calming her down every time the younger girl appeared to be having a panic attack.

Together with a bunch of other Gryffindor girls and their dates, she made her way to the Great Hall.

Neville was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs outside the Hall and gaped when he was her.

The girl couldn't help letting a smile play on her lips.

"You… you look great!" the boy said with some difficulty, before his face turned bright red.

Smiling a wide smile, she said her greetings before taking the boy's arm and together, the pair entered the room.

It had been redecorated since the Christmas feast, but was looking equally astonishing. Lanterns made out of ice were floating around high above them, dimly lit, and the whole room was decorated in ice/silver theme. Also, the usual tables had been replaced by smaller, snowflakes-shaped ones.

And if the scenery wasn't enough to content Ginny, the approving glances from several fellow students of the male gender was.

The girl couldn't help to make her smile wider and felt giggly inside; she was after all not used to having this much attention from a boy that wasn't related to her!

Continuing on in the room, they found a good place to stand and then awaited Dumbledore's speech.

"Students of Hogwarts, it pleases me greatly to see so many of you here tonight", the Headmaster began. "Furthermore, I hope that this will prove to be an enchanted night to you all. Now, let the festivities begin!"

Clapping his hands twice, the old wizard made a stage appear out of nowhere and on it, the Weird Sisters stood.

Followed by the cheers from the Hogwarts students, the band began to play and Dumbledore had the first dance together with McGonagall. Soon, several others followed.

Ginny found herself happily surprised when it turned out that Neville was an exceptional dancer. However, she became less happy when she realized she was the klutz of the pair and stepped on the boy's toes every now and then. Fortunately for her, Neville never mentioned it.

Spinning around the dance floor for three dances, Ginny enjoyed herself and all the attention she got. One might say she was having a ball.

After having twirled around far too much, she decided it was time for some refreshments and left Neville to find some.

Pouring herself a glass of Honey Beer, she noticed that someone was approaching her and as she glanced up, she saw Jeremy standing in front of her.

"Ginny, right?" The boy asked while pouring a drink to himself. "I must say that you are looking very fine tonight."

She gave him a smile as a reply, which encouraged the boy to keep on talking. It appeared that he was more interested in her than his third-year date and the red-head couldn't help to feel a bit spiteful.

Even though socializing with the Ravenclaw was fun, Ginny felt obliged to tend to Neville and therefore went back to him, leaving a disappointed Jeremy behind.

Thrilled to see her again, Neville happily accepted the drink she offered him. He drank it and then, it was off to the dance floor again.

While moving to the rhythm of The Weird Sisters, Ginny caught the sight of Hermione and Ron. It seemed that they were a bit uncertain how to act towards one another and therefore appeared a bit awkward.

It made Ginny titter.

Turning her eyes from the elder students, she also caught the sight of Jeremy looking at her and not being able to stop herself, she winked at him.

But she didn't stop there, as Ginny realized that the Ravenclaw wasn't the only one giving her attention and the red-head was soon found trying to appear as alluring as possible to all the boys.

As she was greatly enjoying herself, the girl became disappointed when Neville wanted to take a break from the dancing. She was having the greatest ego boost ever and didn't want to let it end. However, as she saw that the boy was slightly out of breath, she obliged and they were soon seated at one of the snowflake-shaped tables.

Deciding that they needed nibbles, Neville headed off to get some. Shortly afterwards, Luna came from nowhere and took the boy's seat.

"Having fun?" Ginny asked the girl and got a slight nod in reply.

"The decorations are very pretty", the blonde girl replied. Then she continued, "perfect for hiding Snogglewarts."

As Ginny often had done before when the Ravenclaw talked about something that the red-head had no clue about, she nodded. Then, she waited for the explanation of what these strange, unknown-to-the-rest-of-the-world creatures were.

"You know, Snogglewarts look like a combination of spiders and fairies and they like to plant their seed in silver-coloured decorations. Apparently silver calms them down and makes them feel safe."

Before Ginny could come up with a response, Neville return with their snacks and took the red-head's place in the conversation. This left Ginny free to scan the surrounding.

Even though she was no longer dancing, the girl still got glances from boys that passed by her and it made her realize that she loved being in the centre of attention.

Soon, one of her admirers, a tall sixth-year Ravenclaw, plucked up the courage to approach her.

"Care for a dance?" the boy asked, giving her a crooked smile.

Casting a glance on her date, Ginny found Neville to be completely engaged in his conversation with Luna and seeing no danger in leaving him in the blonde girl's presence, Ginny accepted the Ravenclaw's offer.

The crooked-smiled boy didn't talk that much, nor did he dance well and when the song had ended, Ginny hurried off with three aching toes accompanying her.

She did not remain alone for long, as she soon was asked by another boy and from there on, she continued the evening with sharing a dance or two with a boy, before moving on to the next one.

The Yule Ball could have been a complete success if only she wouldn't have spotted Harry.

Standing a bit away from the crowd, the boy had his arms wrapped around Cho, looking utterly satisfied. They were obviously sharing a moment and if that wasn't bad enough, the two of them looked great together.

Clearly, they were a perfect match.

Excusing herself to her current dance partner, a muscular Hufflepuff, Ginny fled from the Great Hall.

Instead of walking back to the dormitory, the red-head pulled out her wand and called on her cape, before making her way to the school grounds.

Even on the outside, there were levitating ice lanterns as well as several ice statues, portraying different magical creatures. It was like a scene taking from a fairytale, but the beautiful scenario couldn't keep the chill away and Ginny was glad to have her cape. Especially after she discovered that the cape had had a heating charm cast on it.

Although she was warm, the Gryffindor was not alone, as the beautifully decorated school grounds had attracted every hormonal teenager Hogwarts had that was looking for a good snogging.

The search of a teenager-free spot lead Ginny to a stone bench located far from the main entrance. At least here, she wouldn't be disturbed and could calm herself down.

It was then that Ginny realized that she hadn't run because she had been hurt of seeing Harry with Cho. She had run more because it had become a reflex to her.

She supposed it was because the boy had spent so much time with the Asian these last few weeks.

That made matters SO much better!

Seeing that she had come all this way, she could just as well enjoy the view.

The girl was not allowed to enjoy the view for long, as someone came towards her from behind.

Turning around, Ginny found Draco standing there, wearing an emerald-coloured dress robe as well as a disgusted expression.

"Weasley!" the blonde cried out. "I have just witnessed the most horrifying moment in my entire life!" The look upon his face was both appalled and disgusted.

Realizing that this could be something fun, seeing as it made the Slytherin this way, the red-head happily engaged in the conversation. "Oh, really? What?"

"Filtwick was flirting with PINCE!"

Ginny was neither impressed nor amused. "So?" The girl replied and put on a mocking smile. "You do realize that even teachers have feelings? And I daresay that after a fire whiskey or two, they might do all sorts of things."

"Hah, I strongly doubt that!" The boy said before continuing his story. "But that's not even the disturbing part. He was using the pick-up line 'Hagrid is not the only giant on campus'!"

Ginny felt her smile fade and be replaced it by an equally horrified look as the blonde's.

"Em… ew…" the girl said when the shock had decreased a little, unable to find any other word to describe the situation.

"My thoughts exactly!" Draco said, approving her statement. "He could at least have used a good one like 'Do you want to tame my dragon'!"

"That still isn't a good one!" the red-head said to deaf ears.

The boy was either too caught up in being upset over the bad pick-up line or pretending not to hear her.

Both alternatives were very plausible.

Still not answering her, he sat down next to Ginny. Turning towards her, Ginny spotted him wearing on of his sinister smiles.

"So Weasley, spill it! How does it feel being the object of the male students' wet dreams?"

Ginny shoved the blonde slightly while trying to appear offended by his statement. But the girl couldn't play the role of angry Gryffindor very long and soon, she was smiling.

"I knew that this night would be a success!" the Slytherin went on. "How could it not be when I helped you?" The boy was looking rather smug.

"Oh, you're so full of yourself", the red-head replied in what she meant to be a harsh tone. However, she couldn't manage to be spiteful towards Draco and only ended up laughing.

"So why have you fled from the ballroom?" Ginny asked when she was able to keep a straight face again.

"Pansy was being too clingy", Draco replied with an annoyed tone. "She likes to grope people after she has had a drink or two."

"What, she had been drinking!" The Gryffindor exclaimed. "But she could get expelled for that!"

Immediately after finishing her sentence, Ginny wished she wouldn't have said anything. Why? Because she sounded just like Hermione and she didn't like it one bit.

"Afraid someone might find out?" The blonde replied, wearing an amused look.

"As if I care what happens to a Slytherin."

"Of course you don't, unless it was me", he said conceitedly. "For without me, we both know that you wouldn't survive."

The Gryffindor rolled her eyes. It was such a typical thing for Malfoy to say.

"But you need to fill me in on this on Ginny, why is someone as popular as you hanging around out here?" the boy asked.

"I saw Harry with Cho", she merely replied.

"Oh yeah, I saw them as well. Seemed like they were hitting it off."

It was great that the boy knew how to comfort someone.

"Huh, so that's what brought you here", the boy said after a while. "Otherwise I would have thought that Longbottom scared you of with his dancing."

"I'll have you know that Neville is quite an excellent dancer!" the girl quickly replied. "He's by far the best one I have had the pleasure to dance with tonight!"

"Oh, so that Ravenclaw boy that stomped your feet at least half a dozen times wasn't any good?" The blonde was wearing a wicked grin.

Ginny let out a slight giggle. "Well, I'm sure that he is better at dancing than you."

The boy snorted. "Silence silly little Gryffindor, since it is obvious that you don't know what you're talking about. I happen to be a superb dancer and honestly, would you expect anything less from a Malfoy?"

"That's something I believe when I see it!" she retorted.

"Then believe it, for I'm about to show you!" the boy stood up and offered his hand to the girl.

Ginny looked from the hand to the blonde and back again. "You serious? What if someone sees us?"

"Everybody is off snogging someone in a corner, so they won't come here. You see, if there would have been any chance of someone detecting us, I never would have shown up. Imagine the scandal it would lead to: a Slytherin, dancing with a Gryffindor, and a blood-traitor to top it off!"

"And here I thought that every Malfoy had a scandal or two during their life."

Draco flashed a wicked smile. "Of course we do, but I'm saving mine for when I come of age. Who knows what I might do? Or rather, what I WON'T do."

"Please, spare me the details."

Unable to resist any longer, Ginny took his hand and was soon engaged in a complicated system of spins.

It was a smooth and elegant dance, as expected from a Malfoy. But Ginny would never admit to that and remained silent as Draco led her through a series of twirls.

The twirling made her feel giggly, and soon enough, the girl was laughing. The blonde took this as an acknowledgement of his superior skill and soon wore another one of his smug grins.

"Told you I was a great dancer", he whispered into her ear before letting go of her.

The girl felt a little disappointed that the dance had ended, but it was just as good, as Ginny had started to feel a bit light-headed. Furthermore, her knees didn't seem to want to carry her weight at that moment.

Blaming it on dehydration, the girl excused herself from the blonde and headed back to the Great Hall to get something to drink.

On her way back, the red-head found herself wondering if she really was dehydrated. She had almost never been dehydrated and when she had, it hadn't felt quite like this. But having danced the majority of the evening might have left a mark on her and honestly, what other reason could there be?


	8. Asked Out

AN: Here it is, the next chapter! =D No clue why it took so long, but I'll try to be better next time ^^" And for this chapter I'd like to thank my slave for being the beta reader :D Thank you :D

Now, go on and read, enjoy and review? =P

Chapter 8

It was 9 am and Ginny was wide awake. It wouldn't have been such a strange thing if it had not been the day after the Yule Ball as well as the second day in a row that she had stayed up late.

Trying to force herself back to sleep, the girl closed her eyes again and rolled over to the side. However, she realised after merely a couple of minutes that it was a lost cause and tip-toed her way out of the dormitory.

To her surprise, the red-head found that she was not the only one awake, as someone else was already sitting in the common room. What surprised her even more was that this person proved to be her own brother.

Something must have scared him out of his dormitory, as Ginny had never seen her brother willingly get up this early in the morning during a holiday. And that was also the case she soon found out, as Ron muttered something about a huge spider crawling around near his bed, before he rolled over to the other side and tried to fall asleep once more.

Ginny laughed at her brother on the inside, but refrained from mocking him that moment as she knew how sensitive Ron was when it came to spiders. Also, he was far too tired to be any fun, as he most likely wouldn't give her a reaction.

Therefore, the girl took the seat next to him and began to play with a deck of cards that was lying on the table in front of her.

The two of them were soon joined by Hermione, who was carrying an enormous pile of books in her arms.

"Hermione, you can't be serious!" the two red-heads exclaimed simultaneously, causing the siblings to give each other foul glares.

"Well, I figured I might as well do all the assignments we got for the holiday as quickly as possible," Hermione replied, apparently not noticing this hate-filled exchange between the siblings, before she walked over to them, dumping the books on the nearest table.

They landed with a loud thud and Ginny wondered if Hermione was stronger than she appeared. The brunette had after all carried all the books as if they weighed nothing at all, which the younger girl strongly suspected was far from the truth.

"You're mad, but I guess we already knew that", Ron stated, making Ginny lose her trail of thoughts. Shortly after this statement, Ron had to dodge a pillow that Hermione threw towards him.

"I'm only being responsible", the older girl said, trying to act indifferent. "Which is something you need to learn! Honestly Ron, when are you going to plan ahead when it comes to your education?"

"The day you stop helping me with my assignments?" The boy said and dodged yet another flying pillow.

"Well, if that's how you feel, don't expect any help from me when you sit here on the last day of the holiday and try to do them all!" Hermione cried out angrily, before diving behind one of her books.

This actually shut the red-haired boy up, probably out of fear that he would actually have to do everything on his own, and even made him go fetch a few of his own homework. Not that he did anything except scribble the names of different Quidditch players.

Ginny rolled her eyes at the pair, but mostly the elder girl. Couldn't Hermione go a day without doing some sort of homework?

The answer was: of course not! This was Hermione Granger after all, first class swot**. **

Furthermore, the curly-haired girl seemed to be able to get some sort of pleasure out of studying.

How that even was possible escaped Ginny.

Still fiddling with the deck of cards, Ginny kept herself occupied for an hour or two. Not much happened those hours, except that Ron gave up completely on his homework as Harry came down from the dormitory and instead, the two boys began a conversation about Quidditch.

Big surprise there. Not.

Having grown tired of the cards, Ginny tried to distract the brunette's concentration, but to no avail. That book was glued to Hermione's hand and not even the mightiest spell could remove it.

The red-head sat sighing for a while, until she decided that it was time to get something into her stomach. She had after all not eaten since yesterday!

"I'm hungry, anyone else wants to grab a bit?" Ginny asked as she stood up.

Almost immediately, her brother rose from the sofa and it was soon decided that all of them were to go, even Hermione, though the book still remained in her hands.

Coming down the stairs that lead to the Great Hall, Ginny found that the magic that had kept the ice lanterns floating the previous night was still active, though they had begun to thaw a bit. It turned out that this was not the only magic that remained from the previous night, which the red-head would soon find out.

As Ginny walked towards the Gryffindor table, the girl could feel the boys' eyes on her, still being allured by her despite the lacking of her astonishing gown. She even received a few cat calls.

It was very flattering having people follow you with their eyes and throughout the whole breakfast, Ginny once again was in the mode of being as alluring and flirtatious as she could with everyone who was giving her attention.

Or at least all the good-looking ones.

It was not before the red-head had finished her breakfast long ago that her brother began to notice that something wasn't as it used to be.

Ron cast an eye around him and it was obvious that he realized that they were getting a lot of attention.

Or rather, his sister was.

Giving Ginny a suspicious look, he opened his mouth. "Is it only me or is people staring at Ginny?"

He should have gotten a price for noticing anything at all, especially considering how dense he really was. But then again, none of the boys who were giving Ginny attention made any secret out of it.

"Didn't you notice that your little sister was rather popular yesterday?" The red-haired girl said, trying to get a reaction from a certain raven-haired boy. "She got quite a few dances with quite a few people.**"**

It didn't have the desired effect, as that particular boy had his gaze fixed on the Ravenclaw table. But it did, however, make her brother react**.** His eyes got wider and something inside of him appeared to be screaming that this was wrong.

Had he gone and developed brotherly feelings and now felt protective of her?

"What!" Ron let out after some struggle, still not being able to accept these news.

She only gave him a slightly smug smile as a reply, before taking a sip out of her cup. It was rather fun to see Ron so upset about this.

Still trying to take the situation in, Ron continued to speak. "But how is that possible? From what I saw, you only danced with Neville!"

"That was in the beginning of the night", Ginny replied. "Where were you all evening? Off in a corner snogging someone?"

The girl had only meant it as a joke, but the ginger-haired boy didn't take it as one. The question had turned his face bright red and from the corner of her eye, Ginny caught Hermione almost spitting out the juice she had in her mouth.

Once again, the pair proved that they couldn't keep a straight face.

In a vain attempt to avoid the subject, the brown-haired girl asked Ginny to pass her the bread before proceeding to quote things from her book.

Allowing the subject to slid, Ginny made a mental note to bring it up later. Maybe she would use it one day when her brother was being the most annoying, as it seemed to shut him up without any effort at all.

The rest of the time in the Great Hall, Ginny was basking in her newly acquired attention, causing her brother to grow angrier by the minute. It only made Ginny's mood increase and she would every now and then send Ron a conceited smile.

The only thing that wasn't as fun was that Harry seemed to be paying her no attention at all, as his eyes were locked on the doorway, most likely waiting for Cho to appear.

When the Asian finally entered the Great Hall, the boy who lived rushed to sit next to her at the Ravenclaw table without as much as throwing a glance behind him.

Oh well, she supposed that she would have to become more of a man-eater before she could make him notice her. Or so Ginny hoped.

A few days passed and Ginny's popularity kept growing.

Each day, she felt more and more eyes following her every step and for each time, the girl found that she enjoyed it more than the previous.

On the fourth day after the Yule Ball, the red-head was asked out. And it wasn't just by anyone.

Justin Finch- Fletchley, after being dragged her way by Ernie Macmillan, stopped her one day after lunch.

His face had been bright red and if he wouldn't have been able to glance behind every now and then to get an encouraging look from Ernie, Ginny doubted that the boy would ever dared talk to her, let alone ask her out.

But he now had and while trying to keep a straight face and hide his blush, Justin, with some trouble, asked her out.

The Gryffindor had been so flattered that she immediately had replied with a 'yes', which had made the Hufflepuff less shy and also managed to put a slight smile on his lips.

After deciding that they would meet on the Three Broomsticks the next time they were allowed to Hogsmeade, Justin fled the scene, apparently having had enough of an adventure that day.

The rest of the day, Ginny was ecstatic, causing her to smile like an idiot. That smile didn't leave the Gryffindor's lip as she entered the common room and the red-head had soon caught Hermione's attention.

"Did something good happen today?" The curly-haired girl asked, putting the book she had been reading down.

Ginny nodded. "I got asked out!" The younger girl exclaimed as she took the seat next to Hermione.

Before the elder girl could say anything, an angry 'what!' was heard from behind, followed by the sound of foot steps making their way towards the girls.

Turning around, Ginny found her brother standing there, wearing a furious look on his face.

"WHO DARES ASK MY SISTER OUT!" The boy roared and glared at his younger sister.

It was confirmed; Ronald Weasley had indeed developed brotherly feelings and was letting them have the better side of him. How queer.

Though slightly shocked by Ron's sudden outburst, Ginny tried not to act surprised by it and instead proceeded to wearing a smug smile on her lips.

"Justin Finch-Fletchley", the red-haired girl replied casually, trying to provoke her sibling further.

The boy, even though he was still fuming, didn't say anything else for some time, as he was trying to place the name. Soon, something clicked in his head.

"He was the one who thought that Harry was the Heir of Slytherin all those years ago, right? Seemed like a tosser." The last word was filled with malice.

"Everyone makes mistakes", the younger girl pointed out.

"But to believe that the Boy Who Lived was the Heir of Slytherin!" Ron snorted before he went on. "Well, he got proven wrong, as it was that stupid diary that held the memory of You-Know-W…"

"Yes, I know Ron, I was there", Ginny exclaimed, trying to put a stop to the boy.

Though she had no problem at all with Justin having believed that Harry had been the Heir of Slytherin, she tried to avoid talking about the subject further than that. Although it had been more than three and a half years ago, the mere thought of what had happened in the Chamber of Secrets still sent chills down the girl's spine.

"Well, isn't it nice that you got asked out?" Hermione cut in, obviously feeling the change of the atmosphere. "When and where is he taking you?"

"The Three Broomsticks next weekend."

The elder girl nodded before she gave Ron a harsh glare.

"No," the brown-haired girl said, trying to put as much authority in to her voice as possible.

"No what?" The boy replied, trying to look innocent.

"No, you are not to follow them."

Ron's expression grew dark, obviously upset by the fact that Hermione had managed to figure out his "brilliant" little plan, and as he walked away from them, a soft muttering could be heard.

If he kept on like this, Ginny wouldn't need any other entertainment!

Still going on her happy/ego/I-got-asked-out-by-a-boy rush, Ginny skipped the whole way to her coaching with Malfoy, barely even stopping to open the door before continuing in to the classroom.

There, she found Draco, as usual, waiting for her.

"Judging by your ridiculous smile and hopping about, I'm guessing that you got asked out ", the blonde said and also got a smile on his lips, though it wasn't the same type as hers. It was one with a more conceited nature.

Most likely he was taking all the credit for this, as he after all was her love coach. Not that Ginny cared that much about his ego boosting.

"Justin asked me out."

The Slytherin raised his eyebrow. "Justin?" He repeated. "Am I supposed to know who this person is?"

"He's in the same year as you, though in Hufflepuff."

"'Hufflepuff?'" Draco's reply was filled with contempt. "Really Ginny, Hufflepuff? I try to keep as far away from those dimwits as possible! I must say, your taste in men is as poor as you family."

"Oh, shut it", the red-head said and gave the blonde a friendly shove. "He's a nice guy, by far nicer than you!"

"Nicer than me?" The boy exclaimed and pretended to be both shocked and offended. "Impossible!"

Both of them tried to keep a straight face, but failed as the girl let out a slight titter, causing the boy to crack a slight smile.

"Hard to believe but true", Ginny replied teasingly when she had regained her composure. "Anyways, we're going to the Three Broomsticks next weekend."

"Well, that doesn't leave us much time!" The boy rose from his chair. "Ginny, I am now going to tell you all about the techniques which will make this date a very successful one."

Once again putting on his drama queen act, the blonde began on a long explanation how a girl should act during dates.

This little speech involved a long list of the flaws as well as the good points all the girls the boy had ever dated had had. It made the Gryffindor realizes how salacious Draco really was.

And she wasn't soon to point that out to him.

"How dare you accuse me of such a thing?" Draco blurted out and pretended to be offended. "I'm a Malfoy and we are never salacious! One might say that I'm doing everyone of those girls a favour by giving them something wonderful to dream about!"

"'Wonderful to dream about'?" Ginny repeated with a mocking tone. "I bet that you're giving them nightmare and I wouldn't call that 'doing them a favour'."

Draco merely laughed at her statement. His ego sure was too big to be easily offended.

A thought popped up in the red-head's mind.

"But Draco, doesn't Pansy get jealous when you date all these girls?" Ginny asked. "I mean, you are after all like an unofficial couple and I can't see her as the sharing-type."

The Slytherin let out a slight chuckle. "No, she most certainly isn't, but you see, me and Pansy got an agreement. Whenever we wish for each others' company, we have it and when we wish for others', we have that as well. It makes things so much easier for the both of us."

"In other words, you both have the cookie and eat it?

"Well, yes", the blonde replied and smiled a wicked grin. "That is the Slytherin way after all. But let us not think about that now and get on with our lesson!"

The coaching passed quickly, even more so as Draco had to demonstrate almost every move he wanted Ginny to perform, causing the girl, very much to his dismay, to titter continuously.

Also, these demonstrations at times made her fall of her chair from laughing too hard. Like when he had tried to show her how to flatter her eyelashes in the most alluring way.

It was something that would forever be imprinted in Ginny's mind.

Soon, they had gone through most of the techniques and had come to the ultimate technique, or so Draco called it.

"You see Ginny", he said to her with a serious voice. "If used correctly, this technique never fails! The most important thing to remember is to try to put as much emotion as possible into the look as well as try to appear as alluring as possible."

The Slytherin seemed very enthusiastic about it and as usual had to demonstrate how it was done correctly.

"Look me straight in the eyes", the boy ordered and soon enough, Ginny found herself looking into his eyes.

Never having looked the blonde straight in the eyes before, the girl was surprised to see how beautiful his ice blue eyes really were, especially when they didn't contain the usual coldness that Draco emitted. What was more was that she found herself unable to look away, as if the eyes were luring her in, forcing her to have her stare fixed on them.

Not long after this thought, a feeling of light-headedness came over the girl and it became so intense that she had to break the stare.

Instead she turned her head towards the windows, where she saw that it was already dark outside. That must have been the reason behind her dizziness. It was merely a side-effect of it getting late.

She should probably return to the common room shortly, before it got too dark.

Furthermore, she had this feeling that she should leave now, as if staying any longer would lead to something bad. Or at least lead to something that she wasn't quite sure she liked.

Like getting caught by anyone of the professors or Filch. That would certainly lead to something unpleasant.

Yes, that had to be it.

"I think I should be heading back to Gryffindor Tower", Ginny said and she stood up.

Looking at the Slytherin, she found him wearing a smug smile.

"Admit it", he said in an equally smug tone.

"Admit what?"

"Admit that not even you could resist the stare. Which is perfectly understandable, it was after all I who preformed it."

The red-head snorted. "You wish. Once again you're showing that you have a far too big ego to match the reality."

The complacent smile on his lips didn't fade, which made Ginny slightly irritated.

Why did he have to say something like that? As if she ever would fall for the same trick as every other girl did. She knew his true nature after all and wouldn't be as easily fooled.

"Well, you may go, as I realize that you need some time to recover from The Stare", the blonde continued when she didn't say anything. "But make sure that you come here tomorrow as well, as I still have some things to teach you."

The girl simply nodded, before heading towards the door and the Gryffindor Tower.


	9. First Dates are the Thrill

AN: Oh, I feel so bad so being so poor to update recently! ;_; I would like to blame it on having much to do in school before graduating, but that is only part if the reason. To tell the truth, I've been too lazy to actually write this chapter out on the computer ^^" Though I hope that you'll be able to forgive me and that you will enjoy this chapter! ^v^

Chapter 9

The following week, Ginny spent almost every evening with Draco, trying to perfect her flirting techniques. The blonde wished for nothing less than perfection, which forced the Gryffindor to redo all the moves at least a hundred times each.

Even though she would sigh and complain about this, Ginny understood the importance of actually training on the moves. Furthermore, she realized how useful they could be.

By the end of the week, the red-head had perfected the Stare, for which she even received a praise from Draco, telling her that she was almost as good as him, but that it would be another decade before she could compete with him. The Gryffindor had also been taught how to best highlight her good features as well as how to appear interested in the conversation and how to appear alluring.

One might say that she was as ready as she could be.

"Ginny, I must say that you're the best student I've ever had!" Draco said one evening, smugly. "Of course, you would never have gotten this far if it wouldn't have been for my teachings."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "And I presume that you have taught dozens of girls before me how to act like a man-eater?"

"No, but I've taught dozens of girls other things," the blonde replied suggestively to her, giving her a wide grin.

The Gryffindor thought it best not to ask exactly what other things he had taught them, as the boy might actually go on with his story.

Now that would never end well!

"So, I'm ready for my date then?" Ginny said, changing the subject.

Draco nodded. "I dare say so."

This made the girl smile. She could feel how she was getting closer to reaching her dreams.

While losing herself in thoughts, Ginny stopped paying any attention to the Slytherin, who was currently in the process of saying something to her. However, the red-head was soon brought back to reality, harshly, as she slowly realized what Draco was saying.

"… we'll meet at the Three Broomsticks by 3 o'clock tomorrow then!"

Wait, what?

Sending a puzzled look the boy's way, the Gryffindor got a raised eyebrow in return.

"Oh, you didn't think that I would let you go on a date without me nearby?" The blonde said with an almost mocking tone. "Of course I must be there when my creation is set loose!"

Ginny gaped. He couldn't be serious!

"But won't that look a bit… strange?" Ginny had this hope that she might be able to persuade the boy to re-think his plan. "I mean, having you there, staring at me and Justin?"

"No, because I have planned everything!" Draco seemed excited as he said this, which usually was a bad sign. "Pansy and I, along with some other fellow Slytherins, will also be at the Three Broomsticks and once we are there, I'll accidentally spot you. From there on, I simply will have to point this out to Pansy and she will not be able to talk about anything else, allowing me to openly stare at the two of you!"

Oh, swell… This would mean that she, except having to worry about the date itself, also had to endure the tittering of Pansy Parkinson and God knows who else that might be tagging along!

Just wonderful.

Ginny tried her best from there on to convince the boy not to go through with this "brilliant" plan of his, but it was to no avail. The Slytherin was determined to be there, mainly to see how she did, but also, and here Ginny was only guessing, to be the little sadistic person he so often claimed he wasn't.

Oh well, if the red-head could handle having the majority of the male population of Hogwarts ogling her, then a bunch of Slytherins should be a piece of cake! Right?

DMLC-DMCL-DMCL-DMCL-DMCL-DMCL

It was the day of the date and Ginny, after having put on her clothes as well as her make-up, knew that she looked perfect.

Or well, as Malfoy would have expressed it: As perfect as anyone can be without being him.

She had barely left the dormitory and gone down the stairs, before her brother was on her back.

"Ginny", the boy began, "you are looking a bit ill."

The expression on the boy's face said that if Ginny wasn't feeling ill, he was going to make sure that she would be.

Seriously, was he still that protective of her?

"I'm feeling perfectly fine, thank you", Ginny replied with a sugar coated smile.

"No, I'm positive that you're falling ill." The boy went for something in his pocket. "Here, have some sweets."

He pressed a bar of chocolate into her hand and then stared at her, screaming 'EAT IT!' with his eyes.

Not even giving it any thought, Ginny took the chocolate and threw it into the nearest trash bin. "I grew up with Fred and George, two boys that invented their own brand of sweets that make you ill! Do you seriously believe that I would ever eat a piece of candy without knowing where it came from?"

"Are you saying that I'm trying to make you sick!" Ron cried out, pretending to be offended, but failing. "Preposterous! I would never be able to do such a thing!"

"No, you're right, you're not smart enough," she retorted. "You probably got the twins to do it for you!"

It appeared as if Ginny had really hurt her brother's feelings, along with ruining his "great" little plan. While muttering something about 'ungrateful sister', Ron fled the scene, most likely to sulk over the failed attempt.

Sometimes, that boy was such a mystery.

Not having the energy to think about her brother anymore, Ginny got going. Nothing more of interest happened that morning, but that was mainly because the red-head made sure not to do anything foolish. Like sitting next to her brother and therefore give him the opportunity to spike her breakfast.

Who knows, he MIGHT actually do such a thing!

It later turned out that this was probably the best thing Ginny could have done, as Ron kept his eyes fixed on her during the whole breakfast and sent out an aura of… madness. If things went on like this, the chances of having her brother stalking her were big.

However, Hermione came as an angel sent from above and calmed Ginny down.

"Don't you worry about Ron," the brunette said and gave a reassuring smile. "I'll make sure to keep him as far away from you as possible and if he doesn't want to leave you alone, I'll cast a petrifaction spell on him!"

Hermione sounded almost too happy when she said that. Almost as if she wished for the boy to stalk them so that she could cast a spell on him. But if it was to the red-head's advantage, Ginny didn't mind.

Therefore, the brunette received an approving nod in reply.

DMLC-DMCL-DMCL-DMCL-DMCL-DMCL

Being her first date and all, Ginny was nervous. Standing outside the Three Broomsticks, the red-head couldn't help to look around every now and then, in search of the Hufflepuff. Every time someone came around the corner, she would tense up a bit, but then relax as she realized that it wasn't Justin.

Though she was being quite silly. This was nothing compared to her last visit to Hogsmeade, when the Gryffindor, together with a certain blonde, had snuck out of the castle.

Despite this little knowledge, the red-head remained anxious and it wasn't until Justin showed up that she could finally let go of the feeling. Mainly, this was because the Hufflepuff seemed even more nervous than her.

However, it appeared that he had spent so much time with Ginny, that he was able to be a little bit less shy than usual and before they had even reached a table in the Three Broomsticks, the boy was his usual chatty self.

It was a nice change, though it would have been more fun if the red-haired girl would have been able to actually say anything instead of only listening to Justin.

After taking a seat at a table and ordering two butter beers, Ginny came to the conclusion that the date was off to a good start.

And what was even better was that Draco was nowhere to be seen!

No sooner had she though that, before the blonde himself entered through the door, accompanied by his usual group of bullies as well as Pansy Parkinson. All of them wore the exact same smug smile, proclaiming to the world that they were indeed a little bit better than everyone else.

The group of Slytherins went of to find a table and unfortunately for the red-head, the table next to hers was the only table available. Of course this meant that the smug little brats made their way towards it.

Sighing quietly, Ginny braced herself and tried her best to ignore the Slytherins. Just as usual, this was harder than what one might think.

Trying her best, Ginny continued her talk with Justin, or rather, her listening on Justin's talk. Soon though, she was disturbed, as Pansy caught sight of them. Sniggering to herself, the black-haired went on to point out the fact that Ginny Weasley was on a date with a Hufflepuff.

The laughs and hushed conversation that followed made the Gryffindor annoyed. Still, the girl refused to fall for the temptation to hex them all and instead gave Justin her full attention. For the next forty-five minutes, Ginny listened intensely to every word that came out of the brown-haired boy's mouth.

As he had showed before, Justin was fun to talk to and Ginny found that she was having a great time. The Hufflepuff would make her laugh constantly, making her almost forget her role to play the flirtatious little red-head. Once Ginny remembered her part, the girl became determined to use some of the things that she had learnt the past week. The only question was, which one?

Suddenly getting a very vivid picture in her mind of Draco, fluttering his eyelashes, Ginny broke out in laughter.

Luckily for her, it appeared that Justin had been in the process of saying something funny, as he nodded approvingly to her laughter and said 'I know, right?'

Thanking her great fortune, Ginny told herself not to think anymore about her coach, as it would most likely have the same result. And the red-head was positive that she wouldn't be as lucky two times in a row.

Although the Gryffindor had promised herself not to think about Draco, she couldn't help casting a glance towards his table.

At the moment, none of them were looking at the red-head and her date. Instead, all of them were deeply involved in some serious conversation, which the blonde was leading. With one arm clasped around Pansy, Draco used the other one to emphasize his point and appeared to be in the middle of one of his never-ending speeches.

Going from the boy to the girl clinging at his side, Ginny felt like something punched her straight in the face, causing her to look away. Giving it some thought, the red-head came to the conclusion that it was because of the realisation that the black-haired girl looked like she belonged next to Draco.

Not that Ginny cared or anything.

Once again returning her attention to Justin, the red-head made sure not to be distracted again. This time she succeeded and before she knew it, it was time to leave.

The date, despite the minor distraction, had gone swimmingly and Ginny was positive that the Hufflepuff now fancied her more than ever.

Though, regrettably for the boy, Ginny knew that she wouldn't be going on a second date with him. He was great fun talking to, but Ginny couldn't shake this feeling off that he was only suitable for the friend category and not the boyfriend one.

Of course, Ginny wasn't looking for someone to hook up with, but a little chemistry was always nice!

When Justin had paid for their beers, which he insisted was the right thing to do, the two of them headed out of the café. If Ginny would have been able to get back to the castle that very minute, still with a happy feeling in her mind, this day would have been perfect. But how could such a thing happen, when they had to walk past the Slytherins in order to get out of the Three Broomsticks?

Two feet away from the dreaded table, Pansy caught the sight of them leaving and hell broke loose.

"Oh, look what we have here!" Pansy cried out with a contemptuous voice. "Little Ginny Weasley, out on a date! With a Hufflepuff!"

All the Slytherins broke out in laughter.

"And here we thought that the Weasleys could sink no lower", Pansy continued in a mocking tone. "Guess you proved us wrong, once again!"

More sniggering took place.

Ginny had learnt, from years of experience, that when dealing with Slytherins, the best defence was to act indifferent. Therefore, the red-head took no notice of them and was just about to turn her back towards them, when Draco spoke.

"Well, what can one really expect, with a family as hers?" The blonde said in a scornful matter.

"The Weasleys are and will forever be a disgrace for the Wizard society!"

Calm down Ginny, mustn't hex boy for being a jerk. Mustn't.

Turning back towards the crowd, Ginny tried her best to appear composed. It was nothing new that most pure-blood families considered hers to be abominable. It really shouldn't be something that could cause her to stir, but somehow, it still had. Perhaps it had been the way Draco had said it; as if the Weasleys truly were nothing more than dirty in his eyes.

Still trying her hardest to restrain herself, Ginny spoke. "I'm sorry", the girl said through clenched teeth, "that my family actually shows compassion towards others and that we actually care for others. Of course your families are better, where everyone is too self-centred to ever think about anyone but themselves."

Almost at her limit now, the Gryffindor thought it best to leave as quickly as possible before she did something… less pleasant towards the stuck-up group, and so, she headed for the door. She had almost passed the Slytherin's table, when a pair of feet came in her way, causing her to fall. Looking up from the ground, Ginny stared straight into the eyes of a rather smug-looking Draco.

Getting back at her feet again, the red-head sent the blonde boy a death glare, before finally leaving the Three Broomsticks, slamming the door shut behind her.

Still steaming, the Gryffindor walked with angry steps towards the school, closely followed by a baffled Justin. She didn't have the energy to even bother speaking with him and instead, she was ranting in her head.

Draco Malfoy was going to meet a very painful end, if it was the last thing Ginny would do! Or at least he would have to endure something so painful that he was going to wish that he was dead!

DMLC-DMCL-DMCL-DMCL-DMCL-DMCL

The anger that had come over Ginny upon leaving the Three Broomsticks had not gone away as the weekend ended. So, when she was heading for her coaching with the tosser that was the cause of it, the red-head was steaming.

As soon as the girl had entered the classroom, Draco noticed that something was off and gave Ginny a contemplative look.

"What's the matter with you?" The blonde asked, acting as if he remembered nothing of what had happened during the weekend.

Ginny glared at him viciously. "Do you know that I loathe you?"

"Oh?" Draco raised his eyebrow, in what seemed to be amusement. "And what have I done this time to deserve such hatred?"

The boy was treating the whole situation as a joke, something that made Ginny even more furious.

"You are a vile, vicious, conceited and arrogant bastard that enjoys hurting other people's feelings!" The red-head almost screamed in the blonde's face, satisfied that she could finally blow some steam off.

The boy sighed. "You're mad at me for tripping you", he stated with a voice that sounded almost bored.

How dared he use such a tone!

"Yes, amongst other things", the girl hissed back. "Why would you do such a thing to me!"

Draco shrugged, as he himself didn't quite know why he did it. "Felt like the right thing to do I guess", he said after a while. "And seriously Ginny, you shouldn't be so offended by the things I say about your family. I mean, I ALWAYS insult your family!"

"Well, I didn't like the tone you were using this time!" Ginny gave the Slytherin her most ferocious stare. "And I don't like you right now!"

Laughing it off, Draco gave Ginny a wide smile. "Of course you do Ginny! Everybody loves me!"

Having the sudden impulse to throw something heavy at the boy, Ginny restrained herself. Instead, she only replied with a barely audible muttering. "Only in your world…"

"And that is the only world that matters, now isn't it?" Draco said, apparently having heard the muttering.

The Gryffindor refrained from saying anything and instead only glared at him, earning herself a smug grin in return.

That boy was far too conceited for his own good!

When Ginny still remained silent, Draco spoke again.

"So", the blonde began, "it seems that Justin is quite taken by you."

It was evident that the boy was trying to get her to speak to him again. And even though the girl would rather sit in a corner and sulk than let go of her anger, Ginny still wished to be praised for her accomplishment.

"He did, didn't he?" The red-head said, surrendering and thereby giving up the silent treatment.

The Slytherin grinned smugly, apparently once again in the belief that this was all thanks to him.

He was such an ego-centric little blonde.

The rest of the time, the two of them discussed Ginny's date and what she could improve until the next time. The Gryffindor actually got complimented on how well she had handled her first date!

Discussing her date took a longer time than one might think and it was soon time for Ginny to return back to her dormitory. It was not until she was far away from the boy that the red-head realized that she had not gotten her revenge on him.

It appeared that he had escaped his terrible destiny merely by stroking her ego.

Damn that sneaky little bastard!


	10. Sudden feelings

AN: I am so sorry that it took me this long to update! D: I hope that you guys haven't given up on this story, because I most certainly haven't and I will try to update more often this year than the previous one ^^" With that said, I'd firstly like to thank my beta-readers, Slave and Sawnie, for reading through this story :D You guys are the best! 3 and secondly, I hope you readers will enjoy this new chapter ^v^

Chapter 10

Three months is not a lot of time, Ginny realized one day as she sat studying in the library. However, it was enough time for changes.

March month had arrived in the blink of an eye and ever since the Yule Bal, the Gryffindor's life had taken a turn to what she considered being the better. The girl had quickly become one of the castle's most popular girls and there wasn't a week where she didn't get asked out and had to turn down boys.

Though she did occasionally go on a date, all under Draco's strict supervision of course. Even though Ginny might not have been up to half of the dates, her coach had explained to her the value of the dates. They were a statement, saying that the red-head wasn't untouchable, but that she wouldn't go out with just anyone.

At least that was what the blonde said she was doing and as long as Ginny could enjoy the ride, she didn't mind it one bit.

Despite Ginny's rise through the ranks, it seemed that she was yet to fulfil her goal with the whole man-eater business; obtaining the Boy Who Lived's love.

Ginny blamed it partly on Cho.

If the red-head had thought that Harry spent a lot of time with the Asian before Christmas, it was nothing compared to now. It was barely so that the boy's two friends got the opportunity to see him. Therefore, Ginny was confident that the raven-haired boy would have noticed her, if only a little, if the Ravenclaw wouldn't have been there to distract him.

Horrible as it may sound, a part of the younger girl's mind wish for Cho to dump Harry. That way, he would no longer be distracted.

Of course this was Draco's fault. Before the Gryffindor began spending so much time with the boy, she never would have thought anything like that. Being around the blonde had caused his bad behaviour and manners to rub off on Ginny.

However, it was the price the girl paid so that she could reach her dreams and it was a fair enough one. Dreams that were still far from her grasp. Even though this should frustrate her greatly, it didn't. At least, not that much.

Though that might be because red-head had been occupied with so many other things that she barely had time to think about Harry.

Yes, that had to be it.

Realizing that she wouldn't be able to study any more that day, having far too many distracting things on her mind, Ginny thought it best to return back to the Common Room. After all, she wouldn't want to give Ron a heart attack by staying out too late. Again.

With light steps and an equally light mood, Ginny began her way back to the Gryffindor tower, only to be stopped halfway by a familiar face.

In front of her stood Jeremy, who seemed pleasantly surprised to have run in to the red-head. The boy flashed her a warm smile and it was not long before the two of them were engaged in a conversation regarding Quidditch.

They were having such a lovely time that, when the boy asked if Ginny wanted to join him to the Quidditch pitch, the Gryffindor couldn't say no. How could she say no to some one-on-one time with Jeremy?

Plus she liked Ron's slightly hysterical and overprotective side too much not to let him show it once in a while.

And so, the two youngsters were off to have themselves an aerial adventure. It wouldn't be until some hours later that they returned back to the castle, both beaming. Ginny wasn't sure when she had last had this much fun and it appeared as if she was unable to keep a smile away from her lips. Not that she found any reason to stop smiling.

Except the minor detail that she might look like a fool. But then again, Jeremy didn´t seem to mind her smile.

Being very polite and displaying some good manners, unlike some people that the Gryffindor knew, Jeremy escorted her the whole way to the Gryffindor Tower.

There, the boy bid his farewell, but not until he had made the red-head promise that they would do something together soon again.

Upon entering the Common Room, Ginny was met by her brother. And if the girl had thought that her evening had been good to begin with, she was in for a treat.

Ron looked at her with dark, gloomy eyes and it looked like something inside of him was slowly breaking. It seemed that the poor boy still had some difficulties to coping with his baby sister's sudden burst of popularity and had it not been for Hermione's comforting words, Ginny was certain that her brother would have had a break-down long ago.

"Out so late…" , he muttered to himself with a hollow voice, not even bothering to address Ginny.

Locking her eyes with Ron's, Ginny flashed him a wicked smirk. "Well, life is too short to be wasted away in here."

The words made the boy's left eye twitch ominously, but before he could give her a scolding, Hermione showed up. The brunette led Ron far away from the younger girl, knowing full well that a quarrel would otherwise break out.

Not that Ginny would have cared that much about it, but it was better for her brother's health if he didn´t strain himself. Besides, the mere sight of him was enough to keep her amused for days to come.

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Draco was sulking. According to him, Ginny had betrayed him as well as hurt his feelings.

For all Ginny knew, the boy was being silly.

It wasn't as if he had any 'real' reasons to be mad at her. Sure, Ginny might not have mentioned to him that she and Jeremy had started to spend time together. Frequently. And yes, maybe it had been a bit of a blow finding out about it through a rumour that circulated through Hogwarts nowadays, but still. He was being childish and they both knew it.

Or well, at least Ginny knew it. It sometimes seemed impossible for the blonde to even begin to grasp his own flaws. But then again, to him, he was a flawless god incarnated. That still didn't justify the Slytherin throwing a fit the second Ginny entered, before resigning to sit quiet on the windowsill and glare at the red-head.

Oh, silly little blonde! How was she to know that this was a sensitive spot to Draco? Sure, he was her love coach and the one who taught her... well, the one who taught her everything! That didn't mean she had to report everything to him, did it?

Knowing that the boy could sulk all day long if he wanted to, Ginny knew she would have to talk him over if he was going to stop.

"Oh, come on Draco!" Ginny said, trying to reason with the boy. "Isn't this what I've been trained to do? Allure boys and spend time with them while being on my most charming behaviour?"

The blonde remained silent, persistently looking through the window.

The red-head kept trying to reason with him for a few more minutes, until she realized that it was a lost cause. Draco wasn't going to speak to her any time soon.

Well, he had another thing coming! Two could play that game!

The red-head sat down on a chair, intending to wait the boy out. This proved to be a longer wait than the Gryffindor had first anticipated and as the hours past, Ginny began to lose her determination. When her stomach let out a high grumbling, the girl had had enough.

She would rather be doing something productive than sitting here and waste her time on someone who wasn't even talking to her!

Standing up hastily, Ginny managed to knock down the chair she had been sitting on. The loud bang echoed through the almost empty classroom, causing the blonde to snap out of his sulking and look at Ginny for the first time in a few hours.

Not letting this moment pass the girl by, the red-head began to speak immediately. "You're acting really childish and I no longer have any intention to waste another second in your company if you continue to behave this way!"

A few seconds passed by, and when it became obvious that Draco still wasn't going to speak with her, Ginny headed towards the door. However, she soon stopped dead in her tracks as the Slytherin surprised her by actually answering her.

"Okay", the boy began, "I'll stop being so… 'childish'." The tone he used to emphasize the word indicated that he believed the girl to be wrong in her statement, yet was willing to compromise. "Besides, I've already gotten over it."

The girl snorted. Took him long enough, didn't it?

"However, you must tell me the next time you meet with him."

For a second Ginny thought she heard something close to pleading tone in the boy's voice rather than a proper, Dracolesque one that didn't take no for an answer. Though as soon as the red-head turned around, she was greeted by Draco's usual smug smile and conceited appearance.

" Em… why?" The Gryffindor asked.

"So I can marvel at my success of course! How else am I supposed to know just how well I have succeeded in turning you into a man-eater?"

Even though the blonde said it in his usual superior and arrogant way, Ginny still felt as if there was something else behind it. Or was there? Becoming unsure over her own observation, the Gryffindor decided to let it be.

"Why are you standing there, looking like a fool?" Draco said, making the girl forget all about her thoughts."Weren't you supposed to leave? Though, it's quite understandable that you're having a hard time leaving while I'm still here, being as smashing and handsome as I am."

For the second time that evening, the red-head snorted at the boy, before heading for the door, making sure to slam it shut as she exited the classroom.

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Keeping true to her promise like the good little Gryffindor she was, Ginny made sure to always let Draco know when she spent time with Jeremy. This happened to be almost all of the time.

Despite this, it seemed as Draco was determined to always be present and the Slytherin didn't miss out even once. If Ginny wouldn't have been so occupied with Jeremy, Draco's presence might have started to bug her. But the blonde was behaving and the Ravenclaw was far too good of a distraction for the red-head to actually take that much notice of the Slytherin.

Though perhaps the red-head was spending a bit too much of her time in the company of Jeremy. Especially if he was only supposed to be like the other boys she had dated this term. Then again, maybe he wasn't just like any of the other boys. And how could she stay away from him when he was charming, interesting, handsome, fun... Well, basically everything a girl could want!

Draco wasn't slow to notice Ginny's interest in Jeremy, nor to comment it.  
"Don't you think you're spending a bit too much time with that Ravenclaw boy?" He tried to sound casual, but wasn't successful.

They were meeting for yet another coaching. Not that it was much of a coaching these days. Nowadays the two of mainly met to talk a bit about Ginny's meetings with Jeremy before moving on to other subjects.

"Maybe just a bit", Ginny said, looking away. "But you know what I have been thinking? Harry isn't going to break up with Cho any time soon and why should I just sit around and wait for him? I mean, it isn't going to make him stop dating Cho. However, if I were to perhaps date someone more seriously it might just spark his jealousy… or something."

An almost ominous and tense silence followed, during which Draco intently was looking at something in the other corner of the classroom.

It ended soon enough and Draco turned towards the red-head. "I don't suppose that that someone might be Jeremy?" The Slytherin said, eyeing the girl carefully.

"Well, yeah, why not?" Ginny hoped that she wasn't blushing.

Yet another silence followed, making the Gryffindor even more uneasy than before. What was with the blonde today and his silences?

"Well", Draco began, eyes focusing on his fingernails,"why not?"

His reply baffled Ginny. It wasn't like the blonde to be so… accommodating. Quite the opposite, actually.

"He is a fairly good catch and it is not as if he would make you any less popular", the Slytherin continued, using a voice that roughly sounded like someone trying selling an out-dated broomstick. "Forbidden fruit always adds a spice to things and usually will attract a larger crowd."

Flashing one of his infamous smirks, Ginny once again couldn't help but notice that something was off with it. It was as if Draco had become half-hearted with everything that involved the coaching. But why? And why was Ginny so keen about finding out why?

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Now with what Ginny took as Draco's approval, she went from spending almost all of her time with Jeremy, to only spending her time with him. Having grown into a habit of always going to the Quidditch pitch together, the two of them usually spent a few hours every day out in the brisk air. Except playing, they would also talk a lot about various things and it was during one of these conversations that Ginny all of a sudden realized that her face was awfully close to Jeremy's.

As if on auto-pilot, Ginny used the stare to lure the boy in closer and found herself leaning in towards him. When they were only inches away from each other and with a stomach filled with fluttering butterflies, Ginny closed her eyes and felt her lips brush against the Ravenclaw's.

But before she got any further, something hit her in the side of her head, causing the girl to lose her consciousness. Though before her whole world went black, Ginny though that she caught the glimpse of a person with a mass of platinum-blonde hair hastily making his way away from the pitch, as though he was afraid of getting seen.

Waking up in the hospital wing hours later, the girl sprang up from the bed. Something she regretted only seconds later, as her legs gave way to her weight and she fell down to the floor. With the steady hand of Madam Pomfrey on her back, the red-head was put back into the bed and instructed not to make any sudden movements.

Left on her own again, Ginny resigned to think back on why she was in the hospital wing to begin with. Slowly her memory came back and realizing that it had to be Draco that put her here, the girl became enraged.

That bastard, ruining her moment with Jeremy! What had possible gone through his head this time! Oh, he better watch himself, for when she finally got a hold of him, he would pay!

Too busy with plotting evil plans of retaliation, Ginny didn't notice her visitor until he stood right in front of her. Letting out a slight shriek, the Gryffindor managed to make Jeremy to jump a little.

"Oh, I'm so sorry if I scared you!" The boy blurted out, a remorseful expression on his face. "I just wanted to see how you were doing."

Ginny merely nodded, still a bit taken by his sudden appearance.

Before another word could be spoken, Madam Pomfrey returned. Upon seeing the Ravenclaw, the elderly woman went hysterical.

"No, no, no!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed. "Miss Weasley has suffered a severe concussion and even though I have attended to it, she still needs her rest!"

With that, the woman proceeded to chasing the boy out of the infirmity. Throwing a glance towards the red-head as he left, Jeremy gave Ginny an apologetic smile, as it was his fault that he had to leave.

When the door closed behind the boy, Madam Pomfrey returned to care for Ginny.

It would be a full hour before the school nurse would let Ginny out of her care and then only if the red-head promised her to rest the whole evening. The girl gave her word, before she headed towards the Gryffindor Tower.

She had barely crossed over the threshold when Hermione threw her arms around her.

"Oh Ginny, I'm so happy you're okay!" Hermione exclaimed, sounding as if the red-head had just been in a near-death experience.

The girl decided not to comment on this, and returned the hug. "I'm fine, Hermione."

Stalking up behind brown-haired girl, was Harry and Ron, both wearing equally upset expressions.

"Those vicious little Slytherins!" Ron cried out, fuming.

"What?" Ginny blurted out in surprise.

Did they know that Draco had done this to her? As angry as she was with the boy, she didn't like the thought of Ron and Harry knowing about his involvement in her injury. They didn't need any more reason to dislike the boy than they already did.

"Well, they hit you in the head with a bludger, didn't they?" Harry said. "We heard from Katie that someone from Slytherin seemed to be in a hurry to leave after you were hit, though she couldn't say who it was."

"Go figure!" Ron said viciously. "The big game is coming up soon and I bet they want to lessen the competition!"

"Yeah" Harry nodded in agreement and went on. "Well, they have another thing coming! Nothing will be able to get in the way of Gryffindor winning!"

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In the coming days, it became obvious that Draco was avoiding the red-head. Every time the girl came within sight, the boy would turn his eyes away and try his best at not looking at her. Once he even left the Great Hall without eating just to avoid having to walk by her.

But why was he avoiding her? Sure, once Ginny got the chance to confront him, she would most likely explode and try to hex him. But an enraged Ginny had never scared the blonde before. Nor had he ever felt any guilty over his actions. Draco, along with the rest of the Slytherins, didn't have a conscience.

Even though this behaviour was strange, the strangest thing of them all was that the boy had shot a bludger at her to begin with. Now that was the real mystery.

Still hoping that the blonde would stop avoiding her, so he could receive his punishment, Ginny headed to the usual classroom. Not much to her surprise, she found it empty.

Never having been alone in the classroom before, Ginny notices just how big and empty it could be. And how lonely it could make her feel.

Ginny told herself that she would wait a little while, just in case the Slytherin happened to come by. Taking the seat by the window where Draco himself usually sat, Ginny began to wait.

Sitting there all on her own, red-head couldn't help but feel a little hurt. Even though she knew the boy was avoiding her and that it was unlikely that he would show up, Ginny had still hoped otherwise.

As the sun set, the girl finally came to the conclusion that it was a lost cause. Just as she was reaching for the handle of the door, it swung open to reveal Draco standing outside of it. Baffled, the girl remained quiet as the blonde closed the door behind him.

"You... You came", Ginny said at last.

"But of course!" The blonde's reply was filled with his usual conceited tone, causing the girl to grow mad.

"Well, you've been avoiding all sort of contact with me the last few days, so why change that now?" Ginny's voice was dripping with contempt.

The blonde, obviously becoming a bit uncomfortable, looked away from the red-head. "I take it that you already know that it was I who hit you with that bludger."

The girl snorted loudly, but before she had any time to come up with a vile retort, Draco went on. "Before you say anything, I just want to say that I'm sorry."

Shocked, Ginny could only look at the boy. Draco never said that he was sorry. No matter what.

"You're what?"

"I said I was sorry", the boy said, clearly annoyed by the fact that he had to repeat himself. "Did you hear it this time or did your hearing get damaged by the bludger?"

Reacting on the boy's viciousness, Ginny leaped out at him. "Despite you having grown a conscience since the last time I saw you, it doesn't excuse your action. Why would you do such a thing to me?" Pulling out her wand, Ginny glared viciously at the blonde.

The boy replied with a snort. "You really think that I would hit you on purpose? For your information, I wasn't aiming at you!" The way the Slytherin said it made it sound like this justified his action.

"Is that supposed to make it all better!" Ginny exploded. "So what if you didn't mean to hit me, you still did! Besides, who else could you have been aiming at? Jeremy?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, I was."

"Well, then I guess you missed", the Gryffindor replied angrily. "Why would you even try to hit him?"

"It was a minor miscalculation", Draco said.

"Minor!" The girl shrieked and pointed at the boy with her wand menacingly. "You call knocking me out a MINOR miscalculation! It's anything but minor!"

The blonde looked away and muttered. "I'm a seeker, not a bloody beater."

It was then that Ginny no longer could retain herself. It was clear that Draco wasn't as remorseful as he had first appeared and she had had enough of it. Raising her wand, Ginny threw a hex at the boy. Unfortunately for her, the blonde reacted quickly and managed to pull out his own wand to block the charm with it.

This did not discourage the red-head and she kept throwing spells his way.

"Bastard!" Ginny cried out, still throwing hexes. "Tosser! Jerk!"

Even though the boy never got hit by the spells, it still appeared that the constant dodging of them was wearing him out. "Enough!" Draco finally exclaimed, barely avoiding a stun spell. "I do NOT approve of getting charms cast at me!"

"Well, you know what? I do not approve of getting a bludger to my head!"

The urge to keep throwing spells was still present, but once more regaining her composures, Ginny decided against it. For now.

Taking a deep breath, Ginny glanced over at the boy. "So why then? Why did you aim that bludger at Jeremy?"

Almost as soon as Ginny had spoken the words, a part of her regretted it. In a matter of seconds, she had managed to change the whole atmosphere in the classroom into one that was heavy and pressing.

"I had my reasons", Draco merely stated.

The Gryffindor waited for a continuation on this, perhaps even a little speech, but the blonde persistently remained silent.

"Aren't you going to say anything else?" The boy didn't even look her way at her question.

Sighing, the red-head went on. "Have I done something to upset you? Does it have anything to do with Jeremy?"

At the mentioning of the Ravenclaw's name, Draco snorted. It seemed that this most certainly had something to do with the Ravenclaw.

"You can't have that much to say about that, can you? You wanted to make me into a man-eater and you did."

"Yes, I wanted you to become a man-eater, not a girl that falls in love with the first person you date more than once", Draco hissed at Ginny, turning towards the red-head, his blue eyes glinting dangerously.

"I don't see how this is any of your concern nor why you should have a say in the matter", Ginny hissed back.

Draco let out a contemptuous snort.

"Oh come on!" The girl was starting to lose her patience with the boy. "You even said that it was a good idea if I started to date Jeremy, so I don't see why you should be able to be angry about it now!"

"Well, I lied!" Draco cried out. "Honestly, I believe it to be a horrible idea and I can't stand the thought of the two of you together!"

Baffled, Ginny looked at the boy with a puzzled expression."Why did you even agree to it then? You're not making any sense!"

"Do you want to know the truth?" The boy's voice dropped, taking on a serious tone. More serious, than the Gryffindor had ever seen him before.

With those words, Ginny's heart speeded up. It was as if she had reached a crossroad and if she went down this road, she could never go back. Despite her better judgement, despite that little voice telling her no from the back of her head, Ginny nodded slowly.

Barely had she nodded, before the boy was upon her. Only inches away from her, Draco locked his eyes with hers.  
"The reason why I don't want you to see Jeremy", the boy slowly began in a soft voice, eyes still locked, "is because I only want you to be with me."


	11. Confusion Strikes

AN: And here we have it, the 11th chapter :D Do enjoy it ^v^

Chapter 11 

The girl's breathing had stopped. She couldn't believe the words that was coming out of the blonde's mouth.

This was Draco Malfoy. He didn't suddenly express his affection for you. He was the one that got what he want merely by thinking it.

No, this had to be some sick, twisted little joke of his.

Staring into the blonde's eyes, Ginny spoke. "What are you trying at? What wicked scheme have you planned for me now?" The accusing tone was clear in the girl's voice.

"I'm not", the boy replied calmly.

"Well, I don't believe it!" The girl exclaimed. "This is not typical Draco Malfoy behaviour, hence you have to be up to something! Why else this sudden outburst?"

"Why else?" Draco repeated, losing his cool and becoming enraged. "Isn't that obvious? Ever since you started spending time with that Ravenclaw boy, it's all you ever speak of! It is driving me mad hearing it! Not to mention watching the two of you! Why should he have you? What has he done to deserve you and not I?"

Baffled, Ginny fell silent. Could it really be? Did Draco Malfoy have feelings for her, Ginny Weasley? Nothing in that sentence sounded right. It was against all logic, something the red-head never could have dreamed of happening. An impossibility. Yet here the impossible was, staring her straight in the eye.

"I...", the girl began, but was lost for words.

A panic crept upon her and the urge to flee became to intense to ignore. Not saying another word, the girl flung herself at the door and was gone before the blonde even had time to react.

Her footsteps echoed throughout the empty corridors. Despite her common sense telling her that this was the worst possible reaction and that she should have stood her ground, the girl couldn't stop running. Some small part of her mind was hoping, no matter how irrational it sounded, that if she ran long enough, all her problems would disappear.

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Despite having cursed Draco for having avoided her, Ginny was now no better herself. More than a week had passed and the girl was still unsure how to react to the blonde's sudden confession. Not that she had given it much thought. Rather, she had tried her best to avoid thinking about it and therefore kept herself busy. But every time she went to sleep, the thoughts came back and pestered her all night long.

The one thing that might have been able to keep her occupied, namely spending time with Jeremy, the red-head denied herself. Every time she had thought about it, a slight guilt had emerged from the back of her head and stopped her. Ginny just couldn't spend time with the Ravenclaw, not while things was left unresolved between her and Draco. Therefore, she turned down the boy every time he asked her to see him. Blaming it on homework and what not, the girl always did the same thing and excused herself hastily. It made her feel ashamed, especially as Jeremy always looked so confused and hurt by her words.

Staring up at the ceiling during yet another restless night, Ginny sighed. She couldn't go on like this. But what exactly was she doing? Bidding her time to tell the Slytherin she didn't feel the same? Or was it something else?

No, never! Ginny was in love with Harry and had been for years! And even though the raven-haired boy didn't share her feelings, that would never change how she felt, right? Of course, there was Jeremy. Kind, caring Jeremy that had swayed her heart and made her feel good. If the girl couldn't have Harry, then Jeremy was the second best thing. Not Draco Malfoy, the conceited Slytherin that always took his chances to taunt her. Falling for him would be against everything she stood for. No, Jeremy was the obvious choice. Few boys at Hogwarts stood a chance against him and Ginny had a feeling that her family would absolutely adore him.

But why then couldn't she make up her mind?

Living with the indecisiveness wore Ginny out and it wasn't long before Hermione with her hawk-eyes noticed it.

"Ginny, what's the matter?" The frizzy-haired girl asked after she had cornered Ginny.

Not feeling up to getting questioned by the older girl, the red-head merely shrugged. Maybe if she acted indifferent enough, Hermione would go away.

It didn't work.

Placing a reassuring hand on Ginny's shoulder, Hermione went on. "Is it Harry and Cho?" The brunette's eyes were filled with sympathy.

"No, it isn't." Keeping her answer short, the red-head prayed that Hermione would get the hint and go away.

She didn't and instead looked busy, as if she was trying to put some pieces together. Ginny's answer had puzzled her, and it seemed she was now looking for an explanation to the younger girl's recent behaviour.

"Is something the matter with that Ravenclaw boy, Jeremy?"

"No, not really", Ginny replied curtly. "Look, can I go? I am not really feeling up to talking."

Not even waiting for a reply, the red-head quickly hurried off. It probably would have been better if Ginny had come up with a good reason to calm the older girl down, but at that precise moment she hadn't been up to it. It would most likely come back to bite her, as Hermione wasn't one to let things go easily.

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Already the following morning, Hermione kept asking Ginny what was going on.

During the whole breakfast, the red-head had to withstand her questions. Tenaciously avoiding any eye-contact with the frizzy-haired girl, Ginny wished that she would give up.

Time passed by, but Hermione never ceased with her attempts at getting the younger girl to talk. Reaching her limit, the red-head excused herself. Making sure to the older girl didn't follow her, Ginny headed to her first class of the day.

She kept an eye open to make sure she wasn't followed, but also to make sure she didn't run into Draco. Though it was beginning to feel a bit useless. During the week that had passed, Ginny had slowly noticed that the blonde was avoiding her as well. He was no where to be seen, almost as if he had vanished into thin air.

Perhaps it was time to stop worrying about running into the boy. Besides, what was the point of avoiding someone if you never saw them? It defeated the whole purpose and Ginny was sick of constantly worrying.

Letting her feet lead the way, Ginny felt her mood lift. How silly of her to let the worry take over! Turning the corner, the girl felt the air went out of her. There, by the end of the corridor walked a familiar-looking face, one she didn't want to see.

Life sure was having fun messing with her.

Feeling the panic rise from inside, the red-head turned on her heels and began to sprint. Unfortunately for her, she had in her panic gone the wrong way and was met by a dead end. Not being able to head back the way she came as she would most likely run into Draco, Ginny did the second best thing. Hide.

Taking her chance, Ginny opened the door to what she hoped was an empty classroom and slammed it shut.

Paranoid as she was, the Gryffindor remained longer in the classroom than what was needed, causing her to be late to transfiguration. Enduring a harsh scolding from McGonagall, the girl cursed the blonde in her head. If it hadn't been for him, she wouldn't be standing here now!

Sighing to herself silently so that Professor McGonagall didn't hear her, Ginny took the seat next to Luna.

The blonde girl gave the Gryffindor a half-dreamy stare. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I've had better days", the red-head admitted.

Luna replied with an absent nod before turning her concentration towards the task before them. Namely, turning a roaster into a music box.

That was one of the things Ginny liked about the Ravenclaw, she never pushed a subject.

However, very unlike Luna, the blonde girl didn't remain quiet about it for long. Soon after their lesson had ended and the pair was out of hearing range of their classmates Luna spoke.

"So", the Ravenclaw began in her usual tone, "what's bothering you?"

Ginny remained silent for a while, pondering whether or not she wanted to talk to Luna. Or if it was Hermione that had sent her. Of course the blonde would never let another soul know what was said between them, but that didn't make it any easier for Ginny to share her thoughts. Once out, they could never be taken back.

"Yes, Hermione did ask me to talk to you", Luna replied to the red-head's thoughts. "But I also wanted to see how you were. Though I have a pretty good guess what is going on."

Ginny chocked. "D... do you?"

She hadn't meant to sound so panic-struck, but once the words left her mouth she hadn't had any control over them.

Calm down Ginny. Knowing Luna, this could mean anything. And besides, how could she ever have found out about her and...

"It's got something to do with Draco Malfoy, no?" Luna's voice cut through Ginny's trail of thought and left the girl gaping for air.

How had she even found out? How! Oh, this was bad, bad, BAD!

Turning towards Luna with an expression Ginny hoped didn't look horrified, the girl tried a faint smile. "What? How... when.. I..." No coherent sentence left Ginny's mouth. Not that she quite knew what to say.

"Oh, I've known for a while now" the Ravenclaw calmly stated as she examined a crack on the wall.

Had it been anyone but Luna, they would have freaked out already by this knowledge. But there she stood, patiently awaiting the red-head's answer.

"So, do you want to talk about it?"

Ginny nodded in defeat. The blonde girl already knew, at least partly, what was going on. Also, it could be nice to finally have someone to talk to. Someone that could help her straight things out.

"Let's take a walk", Luna said and grabbed hold of the Gryffindor's arm. "If we're lucky, we might see some Loxyworgens."

Walking around the lake, Ginny told Luna everything that had happened. How Draco had offered to be her coach, the lessons, the tours to Hogsmeade, the Yule Bale, her dates, the incident with the bludger and finally Draco's confession.

During the whole story, Luna remained silent, taking everything in. It wasn't until Ginny was done that she spoke again.

"What are you going to do now then?"

"That's the thing! I have no idea what I am going to do, hence I am in this mess to begin with!"

"Is it?" Luna raised her eyebrows. "Or is it that you are afraid?"

Ginny gaped. "I'm a Gryffindor, we aren't supposed to be afraid of anything." She retorted after a while.

The red-head got no reply.

"What are you saying then?" Ginny said and sat down next to an old oak. "That I am scared of my own feelings?"

The Gryffindor still didn't get a reply, but Luna's silence was answer enough.

"What feelings would that be? That I actually would be in...like him?"

"You do speak very fondly of him", Luna finally replied and took the seat next to her. "And both of you seem to enjoy each other's company."

"Perhaps," Ginny muttered and looked at the grass. "Wait, how would you know that? And how did you even find out?"

"Oh, I was following a Snogglewart outside during the Yule Ball and happened to stumble upon you."

Since the Yule Ball. Luna had known since the Yule Ball and never once during the months that had passed had the blonde girl hinted that she knew. It was nice to know that Luna kept it to herself, but still a bit unnerving that the Ravenclaw had kept it to herself for so long.

"But still, it is ridiculous! Me, liking Draco? I'm in love with Harry, everyone knows that! Well, at least almost everyone." Voicing her thoughts, Ginny looked expectingly on Luna to see if she had anything to say on the matter.

However, she remained quiet. It was almost as if Ginny was talking to herself. And perhaps that had been the blonde's plan all along.

"Sure, it isn't going well at the moment", Ginny continued, "but you'll see! And for now there is Jeremy! I mean, we are practically dating already!"

Excuse after excuse poured from the Gryffindor's mouth, but they soon ran out and Ginny was left with an realization. Maybe, just maybe, the Ravenclaw had point with what she had said. That Ginny in fact had some sorts of feelings for a certain blonde.

Still not fully certain of what she felt, Ginny at least knew that that she was done with her running. It was time to face the boy and once and for all solve this matter.

DMLC-DMCL-DMCL-DMCL-DMCL-DMCL

Ginny's mind had been set on dealing with everything as quickly as possible, but that had not been meant to be. Mentally, she was still unprepared and it would take the next few days before the girl mustered up the courage to send an owl to the blonde and ask him to meet her.

Sneaking through the corridors, for reasons not even she knew, Ginny headed to the usual classroom. Her stomach was filled with discomfort and jitters. And no wonder why. Whatever happened in the classroom today would change things as she knew it. Or perhaps that change had begun all those months ago when she first agreed to be coached by Draco.

Still in her stealth mode, Ginny opened the door an inch so that she could peek inside. If she was lucky, the blonde wouldn't be there already. But of course he was, like he always was. Sitting in the window, Draco was silently waiting for her.

He is beautiful.

The sudden realization hit Ginny hard. Of course the girl had always know that the Slytherin was good-looking, but it had never hit her just how much. He was down right gorgeous. How had she ever been able to be alone in the same room as him and not constantly be in awe?

The answer to that was rather easy: the boy was a bastard, something that distracted one a great deal from his looks.

"Ginny, if you think I haven't noticed you, you're sorely mistaken", Draco suddenly called out, causing the girl to jump.

No longer having a reason to stand outside the room, Ginny entered. Not knowing what to do next, she remained just inside the room, most likely looking like a lost puppy. Her behaviour caused the blonde to raise an eyebrow.

"Afraid I might bite?" He said teasingly and flashed a smile.

"Hah, you would never dare!" The red-head snapped back, grateful to fall back into the old pattern of throwing insults at each other.

To show the boy that she wasn't scared of being close to him, she went to sit down on the chair closest to him with true Gryffindor manner. Something she immediately came to regret, as she now was looking directly at the boy. The words she had prepared vanished and left behind a slightly awkward and mute Ginny.

Having nothing to say, silence fell between the two again. A silence that was both awkward and strained.

Oh come on Ginny! You didn't come here to sit awkwardly on a chair! Just tell him what you feel and be done with it.

Despite her inner voice urging her on, the Gryffindor found herself unable to act. No matter how much she wanted to let her words out, she couldn't. And it wasn't as if Draco's silence was helping. Why couldn't he be the one to bring the subject up?

Taking a deep breath, Ginny prepared herself for the inevitable.

Ironically, at the same time that the Gryffindor opened her mouth to speak, so did the blonde. This caused them both to fall silent again.

"You... wanted to say something?" Ginny said after some more awkward silence.

"So did you", Draco quickly replied. "So go ahead."

Once more feeling the jitters in her stomach, panic took over the girl's mind. This caused Ginny said the first thing that came to mind. "Dreadful weather today, right?" The words sounded stupid and as soon as they had left her mouth, the girl wished she hadn't spoken at all.

Apparently taking the Slytherin by surprise, he stayed quiet. His silence didn't last long and he soon broke out in laughter.

It hadn't been the smartest thing to say, but did he really have to laugh at it?

The rage that was building inside the girl soon evaporated, as she noticed that the boy's laughter wasn't taunting nor mocking. It was a sincere one.

"Okay, stop it", Ginny said while she shoved the boy slightly. "Not the smartest thing to say, I know. So be quiet now!"

Of course the blonde didn't pay her any attention and kept on laughing. Eventually he stopped, wiping tears away from his eyes.

"Well, you know, you're right about that one. The weather is rather foul today." Judging from the look on Draco's face, he was having a hard time restraining himself. But he did, leaving only a slight smirk on his lips to show his amusement. "I am going to guess that it wasn't the weather you wanted to talk about though."

The mood that had been light, now went back to the more serious one. This time Ginny didn't feel discouraged by it. This was as ready as she would get.

Averting her eyes from the boy, she began to speak while fiddling with a thread at the end of her sleeve. "I've been thinking about what you said..." Ginny's voice feel silent.

"Yes?" The blonde's voice urged her on.

Eye still fixed on the thread, the red-head went on. "And I've come to the conclusion that maybe... I like you too..." Cheeks flaming red, Ginny twirled the thread in her fingers.

It unnerved her that the blonde had been so quiet, but what unnerved her even more was that he remained so for a long time.

The growing feeling of dread spread throughout Ginny's body. What if he had changed his mind and no longer wanted to have anything to do with her? Or worse, what if this really all had been a cruel joke? If it was, he would never live it down.

Growing impatient of the boy's lack of response, she turned her eye his way. No matter what she had been expecting, it wasn't this. In front of her sat Draco, wearing a wide, slightly smug grin. However, it wasn't just smugness the girl saw in it as she studied it. There was something more behind it. Joy.

"What are you smiling at?" the Gryffindor snapped, her voice uneven and cheeks burning hot.

"I'm smiling because I was right."

"Right about what?" Ginny asked in a suspicious tone.

"That you would choose me in the end", Draco said, his voice both teasing and warm.

Opening her mouth to object, Ginny was cut off by a pair of lips that connected with hers. Pulling her closer towards him, Ginny felt Draco's arms rest possessively around her. When he finally let go of her, Ginny could do nothing more than stare at the boy dazzled. This was not the quite the reaction she had expected.

Clearly amused by her, the blonde got another smile on his lips.

"You know Ginny, I'm disappointed with you!"

Draco's sudden words caught her off guard.

Raising her eyebrows, Ginny looked at the boy puzzled. What had she done now?

"You broke your promise", the Slytherin continued.

Now the red-head was completely lost. Promise? What in Merlin's name was he talking about?

"Oh Ginny, Ginny, Ginny", Draco half-sighed, half-said, putting on his more dramatic side. "Don't you remember? You said you wouldn't fall in love with me."

A vague memory resurfaced from the back of the girl's head. Though she was fairly certain she hadn't exactly promised that. Besides, hadn't it been the boy that first had expressed his feelings?

Not leaving any room for Ginny to speak, Draco went on. "Of course I shouldn't have expected anything else", he said, eyes gleaming with self-admiration. "I am quite irresistible after all!"

Just about to scold the boy, Ginny was once more cut off as Draco leaned in and kissed her again. All other thought but one escaped her and that was how remarkably soft the boy's lips were.


End file.
